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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


BV  4277  .T5 

Thorold,  Anthony  W.  1825- 

1895. 
The  presence  of  Christ 


m^ 


.'^ 


IP 


r/iA; 


THE  PRESENCE  OF 
CHRIST. 


BY 


ANTHONY  W.  THOROLD,  D.B., 

LORD   BISHOP   OF  ROCHESTER. 


NEW   YORK: 
ANSON   D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

900   BROADWAY,   COR.   20th   STREET. 


EDWARD  O.  JENKINS,  ROBERT  RUTTKR, 

Printer  and  Stereotyper  Binder^ 

20  North  William  St.  116  and  118  East  14th  Street. 


THE  FLOCK  OF  CHRIST 

IN  ST.  GILES  IN  THE  FIELDS, 

GIVEN  ME  TO  FEED  FOR  TEN  HAPPY  YEARS, 

I  OFFER  THIS  BOOK 

IN  UNDYING  AFFECTION. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE,     . 
II.  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE, 

III.  CHASTISEMENT,  .... 

IV.  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH 
V.  THE  TABLE  OF  GOD,    .... 

VI.  ETERNAL  LIFE, 

INDEX,  ...... 


FAGfi 
II 

43 

83 

124 

158 
205 
247 


To  facilitate  the  reading  of  this  book  in  small  portions,  thi 

subjects,  as  they  occur,  are  noted  at  the  side,  and 

the  first  word  of  the  different  sections  is 

marked  by  an  initial  letter. 


PREFACE. 


iHIS  volume  is  the  substance  of  some 
lectures  on  the  Twenty-third  Psalm 
preached  in  the  Parish  Church  of  St. 
Giles  in  the  Fields  during  the  Lent  of  1865, 
and  here  recast,  with  a  good  deal  of  expan- 
sion and  some  almost  unavoidable  repetition, 
into  a  permanent  form. 

To  the  position  assumed  all  through  it, 
that  ''  The  Lord  —  my  shepherd  "  is  the 
"  Good  Shepherd  "  of  Christ's  own  parable, 
no  sound  critical  objection  can,  I  think,  be 
made. 

It  is,  however,  quite  possible,  that  some 
may  demur,  either  to  occasional  doctrinal  ap- 
plications of  the  psalm  as  plainly  remote  from 

(7) 


8  PREFACE. 

the  inspired  author's  purpose,  oi  to  certain  of 
the  practical  lessons  drawn  fiom  it  as  over- 
strained and  irrelevant. 

To  any  such  criticisms  my  answer  is  to 
be  found  in  the  deep  conviction,  that  Holy 
Scripture  can  not  easily  be  too  much  trusted 
and  used,  not  indeed  for  rules,  but  for  what 
is  far  better.  Eternal  principles  for  human 
thought  and  conduct ;  also  in  the  firm  belief 
that  the  Divine  promises,  when  carefully 
studied  in  the  history  of  Him  who  is  the  life 
and  light  of  men,  are  "  exceeding  broad,' 
just  because  they  cover  ground  as  wide  as 
life  itself. 

In  sending  it  out  to  the  world,  the  writer 
feels  to  be  parting  from  a  dear  and  pleasant 
friend,  who  has  solaced  tedious  months  of 
sickness  and  inactivity  now  in  God's  great 
goodness   over.      Those    months   will   hardly 

ave  been  endured  for  nothing,  if  some  of  the 
lessons  learned  in  them,  and  written  here, 
shall  be  of  some  avail  in  comforting  and  in- 
structing  others;   and    if  the   study    of  this 


PREFACE.  g 

blessed  psalm  shall  ever  so  little  help  any, 
who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity, 
to  abide  in  Him  as  their  Saviour,  to  walk 
with  Him  as  their  friend,  and  to  look  for  Him 
as  their  King. 

12  Chesterfield  Street,  Mayfair,  W. 


I. 

CHRISTIAN    ASSURANCE. 

''  THE   LORD   IS   MY   SHEPHERD  :   I   SHALL  NOT  WANT." 

"^Que  de  per/ectionnements  avant  que  Vhomine  daigni 
songer  a  celui  de  son  dnte  /  N^est-il  pas  etrangt 
de  le  voir  penser  h.  s' assurer  toutes  chases  excepts 
son  salut  ?  restaurer  toutes  chases^  exceptd  sa  con- 
science ?  speculer  sur  toutes  choses^  exceptd  sur 
Vdternitd?  "— Vinet. 

OD  for  us,  God  with  us, 

n    A    '  4.U  Introduction, 

Grod    in    us — these  are 

the  ideas  which  describe  our  religion. 
For  they  explain  its  motive,  they  declare  its 
meaning,  they  define  its  doctrine.  The  mo- 
tive is,  that  God  being  for  us,  all  things 
shall  work  together  for  our  good,  if  we  are 
for  Him.  The  meaning  is,  that  God  being 
with  us,  His  Providence  is  ever  ready  to  lead 
us  on  by  the  right  zvay  [Psaimcvn.?].  The  doc- 
trine is,  that  an  indwelling  God  is  our  salva^ 

tion, 

(n) 


12  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

Adolphe  Monod,  detecting  a  historical  re- 
lation between  these  ideas  of  God's  favor, 
God's  presence  and  God's  indwelHng,  finds 
the  first  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  second  in 
the  Gospels,  the  third  in  the  Epistles.  In  the 
Old  Testament  we  see  God  both  on  our  side, 
and  also  with  us,  yet  with  us  only  occasion- 
ally, and  by  means  of  angels.  In  the  Gos- 
pels, God  speaks  to  us  by  His  Son.  Since 
Christ  went  away,  we  have  had  the  promise 
of  the  Comforter.  He  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you  [johnxiv.  ni. 

Like  blazing  torches  gleaming  at  long  in- 
tervals over  a  wide  and  dark  plain,  the  vari- 
ous manifestations  of  Jehovah  in  the  interval 
from  the  fall  to  the  Incarnation  kept  fresh  in 
men's  hearts  the  truth  of  a  living  God.  As  to 
what,  indeed,  was  the  precise  nature  of  the 
intercourse  between  Adam  and  his  Maker, 
before  sin  made  him  hide  himself  from  the 
presence  of  God  amongst  the  trees  of  the  garden 
[Genii. 8], it  is  easier  to  speculate  than  to  prove 
He  heard  a  voice,  but  did  he  see  a  simili- 
tude ?  When  he  fled,  was  it  from  a  face, 
on  which  he  had  been  wont  to  look,  or  from 
a   Holiness,  which   he   had   learned   to   fear  ? 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


13 


How,  further,  God  told  Noah  to  make  the 
ark,  or  bade  Abram  leave  his  father's  house, 
or  spoke  with  Moses  by  the  burning  bush, 
Scripture  does  not  explain.  Sometimes  we 
read  of  visions,  as  when  Abram  sat  in  his 
tent-door  in  the  heat  of  the  day ;  or  of 
dreams,  as  when  God  showed  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar what  He  was  about  to  do  to  him  ;  or 
of  similitudes,  as  when  Moses  and  Aaron  saw 
the  God  of  Israel,  and  there  was  under  His  feet, 
as  it  were,  a  paved  ivork  of  a  sapphire  stone,  and 
as  it  were  the  body  of  heaven  in  His  clearness 
[Exod.  ixiv.  10].  When  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt, 
the  cloud  by  day  and  the  flame  by  night 
were  the  visible  guarantees  of  the  blessed 
promise  :  My  presence  shall  go  with  thee^  and 
I  zv ill  give  thee  rr.?/ [Exoci.xxxin.  u].  For  the  one 
promise,  by  which  God  ever  strengthened 
the  heart  sof  His  servants,  whether  patriarchs, 
or  prophets,  or  kings,  was  the  distinct  assur- 
ance of  His  Divine  presence,  saying  to  Isaac, 
I  will  be  with  //^^^  [Cxen.  xxvi.  3],  and  to  Jacob,  Be^ 
hold,  I  am  with  thee  coen.  xxviii.  15],  and  to  Moses, 
Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee  CExod.  in.  12],  and  to 
Jeremiah,  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver  thee  [Jer.  i.  s]. 
While  of  Hezekiah  it  wa.s  written,  The  Lord 


f4  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

was  with  /mn  [2Kin^sxviii.7i;   and  it  was  David's 
joyiul  boast,  When  I  awake  I  am  still  with 

Thee  CPsalm  cxxxix.  18]. 

When  Christ  came,  for  a  brief  interval  which 
cut  the  world's  life  into  two  distinct  halves, 
God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  [i  Tim.  iii.  i6].  Sure- 
ly it  is  most  instructive  to  observe  how, 
by  His  words  before  His  resurrection,  and 
His  acts  after  it.  He  prepared  the  Church  for 
His  protracted  absence.  The  outward  sym- 
bols of  bread  and  wine,  in  the  solemnly-insti- 
tuted sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  while 
they  convey  to  faithful  partakers  the  blessed 
sustenance  of  His  spiritual  body  and  blood, 
are  also  to  enable  His  followers  to  realize, 
when  they  receive  it,  the  fact  of  His  continual 
presence  in  their  hearts.  Of  all  His  many 
hard  words  to  His  disciples,  none  were  so 
hard  as  those  in  which  He  strove  to  assure 
them  that  His  going  away  would  be  for  their 
gain,  no  explanation  at  first  so  disappointing 
as  that  by  which  He  maintained  it.  He  was 
going  away,  but  He  was  coming  back.  The 
world  should  not  see  Him,  but  they  should 
see  Him,  and  their  joy  should  abide.  It  wa? 
not,  however,  to  be  a  mere  sight  of  "-he  senses 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


15 


as  it  was  then,  but  the  beholding  of  Him  by 
faith  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit.  His  coming 
back  to  be  with  them  was  not  so  much  His 
return  to  the  world  for  forty  short  days,  but 
His  coming  with  His  Father  to  those,  who 
loved  His  words,  to  take  up  an  abode  in  their 
hearts.  Abide  in  me^  and  I  in  you  iJohnxv.4]. 
Henceforward  the  life  of  the  Church  was  to 
be  His  ever-present  absence.  Those  manifold 
and  abrupt  appearances  and  disappearances 
after  the  resurrection  were  not  merely  to 
show  by  many  infallible  proofs,  that  He  was 
risen  from  the  dead,  but  by  a  process  of  kind 
weaning  to  prepare  them  for  the  time  when 
He  would  have  ascended  into  His  glory.  He 
would  teach  them  that  He  was  always  at 
hand,  though  they  did  not  see  Him  ;  always 
thinking  of  them  and  watching  over  them, 
though  He  might  seem  to  be  far  away ;  ab- 
sent in  the  body,  He  was  present  in  the  spirit, 
and  in  the  fullness  of  His  Divine  power.  He 
would  not  leave  them  orphans,  He  would 
come  to  them.  The  vision  of  the  glorified 
Saviour  at  the  right  hand  of  God  nerved 
Stephen  to  die.  To  St.  Paul  at  Corinth,  set 
in  the  midst  of  great  dangers,  the  Lord  spake 


1 6  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

in  a  vision  :  Be  not  afraid,  but  speak,  and  hold 
not  thy  peace,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  no  man 
shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  //z^^' [Acts  xvni  9,  lo].  The 
tradition  of  paradise  is  also  the  hope  of 
glory.  Interrupted  by  the  fall,  and  restored 
by  the  cross,  it  will  be  perfected  in  the  resur- 
rection. The  Revelation,  which  in  the  begin- 
ning tells  us  how  the  beloved  apostle  in  Pat- 
mos  fell  down  as  dead  before  the  excellent 
glory  of  Jesus,  in  the  end  assures  us,  that  in 
the  new  Jerusalem,  tJiey  shall  see  His  face,  ana 
His  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads  [Rev.  xxii.  4]. 
We  shall  not  fear  Him  then,  for  perfect 
love  casteth  out  fear  [Uohniv.  is].  and  His  pres- 
ence will  not  only  be  a  spiritual  nearness 
to  soiled  and  earthly  hearts  little  capable  ot 
it,  little  thankful  for  it,  but  the  unveiled  face 
of  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne. 

^,    ^    ,  ,         The  practical  difficulty,  how- 
The  Gospel.  .  ,         ,  ,       r 

ever,  is  to  take  these  truths  tor 

our  own,  and  to  live  daily  in  the  strength  of 

them.     The  first  question  in  theology  is  the 

nature   of  God,   but  the  second  is  His  rela- 

tionship   to   mankind.     On  this  latter  point 

the  Gospel  gives  us  all  the  light  we  possess, 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE.  17 

and,  glorious  as  it  is,  it  may  be  described 
in  two  sentences :  GOD  IS  RECONCILED,  FOR 
MAN  IS  REDEEMED.  God  is  reconciled,  not 
because  sin  is  made  light  of  or  forgotten  ; 
but  because  it  has  been  expiated  at  an  in- 
finite cost,  in  the  person  of  His  only-begotten 
Son.  The  Gospel  is  the  good  news  of  the 
reconciliation  to  all  men  eveiywhere ;  and  the 
men  who  are  commissioned  to  declare  it  to 
their  fellows  convey  the  zvord  of  reconciliation^ 
praying  men  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  reconcilea 

to   God  [2Cor.  V.  19,20]. 

Doubtless  there  is  still  a  barrier  between  a 
holy  God  and  His  sinful  creatures :  but  it  is 
not  on  God's  side,  or  of  God's  making ;  it  is 
on  man's  side,  and  of  man's  making.  God 
must  ever  hate  sin  with  a  perfect  hatred,  and 
He  can  have  no  truce  with  it  in  any  man ; 
and  wherever  He  sees  it,  while  His  desire  is 
to  pardon  it.  His  purpose  also  is  to  uproot  it 
and  put  it  away.  Yet  He  has  proclaimed  by 
every  means  in  His  power,  that  a  way  is  now 
made  open  into  His  presence,  by  the  precious 
blood  of  His  dear  Son ;  and  He  would  have 
us  see  and  confess,  that  the  only  thing  that 
keeps  us  apart  is  not  His  refusal  to  be  recon- 
a 


/ 


1 8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ciled  to  us,  but  ours  to  be  reconciled  to 
Him. 

Now,  to  put  it  roughly,  quite  apart  from 
any  love  of  sin  in  us,  or  any  willful  resistance, 
to  God's  Word,  there  are  two  chief  obstacles 
to  our  receiving  the  Gospel. 

The  first  difficulty  is  in  our  accepting  it 
precisely  as  God  himself  describes  it.  It  is 
so  marvelous  in  its  history,  so  universal  in 
its  application,  so  mighty  in  its  blessedness, 
so  utterly  unlike  and  beyond  anything  that 
we  could  have  imagined  or  invented  for  our- 
selves, that  while  one  man  denounces  it  as  in- 
sulting to  the  Divine  holiness,  another  resents 
it  as  an  encouragement  to  human  presumption, 
and  a  third,  thinking  it  too  good  to  be  true, 
goes  on  to  argue  that  therefore  it  can  not  be. 

Some,  again,  refuse  to  receive  it,  as  God 
bids  them,  in  the  light  of  a  free  and  unmerited 
gift ;  either  because  they  are  unwilling  to  be 
so  cheaply  saved,  without  cost  or  effort  of 
their  own,  or  in  a  spirit  of  timidity  which  says, 
*'  If  all  this  is  true,  and  the  truer  it  is  the 
more  I  wish  for  it,  still  how  may  I  satisfy  my^ 
self  that  it  is  really  meant  for  me,  and  that  I 
may  freely  claim  it  as  my  own." 


CHRIS TIA N  ASS URA NCE.  j g 

To  both  these  difficulties  (to  which  allusion 
will  again  be  made  in  this  chapter)  a  com- 
plete answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  Twenty- 
third  Psalm. 

HRISTIAN  assurance  is  Christinn  As- 
a  humble,  but  firm  sense  surance. 
of  present  acceptance  with  God  in  His  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  It  is  a  doctrine  which  does  not 
indeed  always  receive  the  consideration  it  de- 
serves from  good  and  thoughtful  men.  Yet 
it  is  so  essentially  bound  up  with  our  ideas  of 
God  and  our  interpretation  of  Scripture ;  it 
bears  so  directly  on  our  daily  religious  life, 
whether  held  in  sober  cheerfulness  or  in  igno- 
rant presumption  ;  in  plain  truth,  it  has  so 
much  to  do  with  our  happiness,  and  therefore 
with  our  usefulness  and  our  holiness,  that,  on 
the  threshold  of  a  subject  which  can  not 
possibly  be  explained  or  understood  without 
some  reference  to  it,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to 
try  to  think  out,  what  it  really  means. 

For  we  may  regard  it  either 

.,,  ,  ,  -.1    J-  Ti        Objections  to  it 

vvith  contempt,  or  with  dislike,      •' 

or  with  timidity,  or  with  thankfulness.    Those 

who  regard  all  religious  consciousness  what 


20  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ever  as  a  hysterical  pietism  will  of  course 
ignore  it  as  folly,  or  denounce  it  as  fanati- 
cism. With  other  arguments,  from  other  stand- 
ing points,  we  must  approach  minds  like 
these.  Such  persons,  however,  can  not  escape 
the  difficulty  of  finding  some  better  interpre- 
tation of  the  numberless  passages  of  Scripture 
which  both  express  and  imply  it ;  and  they 
may  fairly  be  invited  to  explain,  in  what  con- 
sists the  unreasonableness  of  our  wishing  to 
ascertain  if  the  greatest  blessing  a  human 
being  can  possess,  is  ours  or  not. 

Dislike  to  it  is  commonly  based  on  the  sup- 
posed presumptuousness  of  venturing  to  in- 
terpret God's  hidden  purposes,  and  of  taking 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  out  of 
His  hands  into  our  own.  Forgiveness,  men 
may  say,  is  not  so  cheaply,  lor  so  hastily, 
granted.  There  must  be  time  to  test  the 
sincerity  and  to  confirm  the  repentance.  It 
dilutes  the  malignity  of  sin  to  make  pardon 
too  easy.  It  confers  impunity  on  sinners,  if 
we  permit  personal  feeling  to  be  the  guarantee 
of  the  favor  of  God.  At  the  close  of  life  God 
may  possibly  reward  a  long  penitence  by  the 
vision  of   His  reconciled   countenance ;    but 


CHRIS  TIAN  A  SSURA  iVCE.  2 1 

really-humbled  men  will  be  content  to  walk 
softly  all  their  days  under  the  shade  of  the 
cross,  hoping  for  mercy  when  they  die. 

To  this  it  may  be  replied  in  passing,  that 
it  is  not  our  own  notion  of  what  God's  char- 
acter ought  to  be,  that  may  safely  guide  us 
in  this  matter;  it  is  His  own  account  of  it,  as 
He  gives  it  us  in  His  Word.  If  Christ  our 
Lord  is  the  same  to-day  that  He  was  yester- 
day, it  will  be  His  rule  now  as  when  He  was 
on  earth,  if  He  forgives  men,  to -tell  them  so. 
We  should  all  think  it  cruelty  in  a  human 
parent  to  refuse  to  tell  a  penitent  child  that 
it  is  forgiven.  But  as  the  heavens  are  high 
above  the  earth,  so  is  the  pitifulness  of  God 
compared  with  that  of  men. 

Those,  again,  who  regard  it  with  timidity, 
or  a  kind  of  softened  distrust,  mostly  so  re- 
gard it,  not  so  much  from  any  sense  of  inher- 
ent impossibility  in  God  to  forgive  instantly 
or  entirely,  as  from  a  real  feeling  (deepened, 
it  may  be,  by  a  painful  and  long  experience) 
of  the  deceitfulness  of  human  nature,  the 
shallowness  of  human  feeling,  and  the  weak- 
ness of  human  strength.  It  is  not  that  they 
dishonor  God  by  doubting  His  mercy,  or  mis- 


22  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CilRIST. 

represent  Him  through  ignorance  of  His 
Word  ;  but,  knowing  that  they  can  not  de- 
serve pardon,  they  fear  they  may  fail  to  ob- 
tain it ;  confession  with  the  lips  is  easy,  with 
the  heart  is  hard. 

Most  true.  Yet,  if  God  is  willing  to  forgive 
us,  may  we  not  forgive  ourselves  ?  A  very 
slender  knowledge  of  human  nature  (quite 
apart  from  the  gospel)  is  sufficient  to  assure 
us  that  there  is  no  real  spur  to  amendment, 
no  genuine  encouragement  to  new  and  per- 
severing effort,  without  a  reasonable  hope 
that  the  past  will  be  forgotten,  and  the  old 
favor  and  kindness  restored.  Alienation  and 
distrust  sadden  the  soul  and  weaken  it ; 
while  confidence  and  esteem  brace  and  en- 
noble it. 

Once   more   there  are   those 
True  idea  of  it,       ^  , .        .  ^  /-     n 

•'  who,  groundmg  it  on  God  s  ex- 
press revelation  of  Himself,  both  in  His  Word 
and  in  their  own  moral  nature,  unhesitatingly 
and  joyfully  recognize  it  as  the  mainspring  of 
their  obedience  and  joy.  They  are  careful, 
indeed,  to  distinguish  between  the  rash  re- 
ligionism that  asserts  it  to  be  necessary  to 
salvation,  and  the  sober  experience  that  de- 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE.  23 

clares  it  essential  to  peace.  For  the  one 
foundation  of  Christian  assurance  is  the  per 
son  and  character  of  God.  It  is  not  so  m  jch 
what  we  are  that  we  rest  on,  as  what  He  is. 
He  gives,  and  we  receive.  He  declares,  and 
we  listen ;  He  promises,  and  we  believe.  If 
our  hearts  deceive  us.  He  is  greater  than  our 
hearty  and  knoweth  all  things  \x^^'\^^'^\'i-'m\  but  if 
we  pray  not  to  be  deceived,  if  we  love  the 
truth  and  wish  to  know  it,  will  He  give  us 
over  to  believe  a  lie  ?  If  there  is  danger  of 
presumption  in  our  being  too  hasty  to  take 
God  at  His  word,  is  there  no  danger  of  it 
in  our  doubting  if  He  really  means  what 
He  says?  Is  there  no  dishonor  to  Him,  when 
we  dwarf  His  infinite  perfections  by  trying  to 
make  His  readiness  to  pardon  to  fit  in  with 
ours?  If  through  ignorance  or  hardness  we 
are  slow  ourselves  to  forgive  others,  does  that 
make  Him  like  us" 

This  Twenty-third  Psalm  is  the  Old  Testa- 
ment doctrine  on  this  most  blessed  subject.  In 
revealing  the  person  of  God,  in  describing 
His  relation  to  us  under  an  endearing  and 
familiar  image,  it  teaches  us  to  rest  the  hope 
of  our  salvation,  not  on  our  own  changeful 


24 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


and  erring  frames  and  feelings,  but  on  Divine 
love.  The  New  Testament  tells  us  of  three 
kinds  of  assurance  :  the  full  assurance  of  mi- 
derstandi7ig  ccoi.  li.  2] ;  the  fill  assurance  of  faith 
iHeb.x.22];  thc  fill  assuraucc  of  hope  unto  tlie  end 
[Heb.vi.  11].  Though  sooner  or  later  they  almost 
imperceptibly  blend  into  each  other,  there  is 
nevertheless  a  real  distinction  between  them, 
and  in  a  logical  order  they  approach  and  pos- 
sess the  soul.  That  order  is  plainly  discern- 
ible in  this  verse,  which  is  a  confession  of  the 
first  assurance  of  a  believing  soul ;  in  other 
words,  its  starting-point  in  that  knowledge  of 
God  which  alone  is  eternal  life.  The  Lord  is 
my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want, 

lET  us  observe  here  three 

,.  ,.      ,   .  1  ^1  t,      Varieties  of 

distinct  ideas.    The  soul  s  Assurance, 

discovery  of  God,  or  THE  FULI, 
ASSURANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING.  Its  dis- 
covery of  God's  personal  relation  to  itself,  or 
THE  FULL  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  Its  COn» 
fidence  resulting  from  that  discovery,  or  THE 
FULL  ASSURANCE  OF  HOPE  UNTO  THE  END. 

The  discovery  of  God  is  the  discovery  oi 
His  name.     In  a  sense,  God    is    His   name. 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


25 


Here  Jehovah  calls  Himself  a  shepherd,  not 
for  the  first  time,  nor  for  the  last.  So  Jacob 
had  already  called  Him  on  his  death-bed  : 
From  the7ice  is  the  Shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israec 
[Gen.  xiix.  24].  Thus  Asaph  addresses  Him  in 
prayer :  Give  ear,  O  Shepherd  of  Israel,  Thou 
that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock  [Psaimixx^c.  u. 
Zechariah,  approaching  the  advent,  applied  it 
to  Messiah  :  Awake,  O  sword,  against  my 
Shepherd.  In  the  New  Testament,  it  is  the 
title  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Of  Himself  the 
Saviour  said,  I  am  the  good  Shepherd.  In  the 
Hebrews  we  read  of  Him  as  the  great  Shep- 
herd  of  the  sheep  m^^.yim.2^-\\  and  St.  Peter,  speci- 
ally impressed  it  may  be  by  the  figure  from 
having  been  himself  thrice  bidden  to  feed  the 
sheep  and  the  lambs,  in  one  place  describes 
the  Lord  as  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our 
souls  [1  Pet.  ii.  25] ;  in  anothcr  as  the  chief  Shepherd 

[;Pet.  V.4]. 

Now  when  we  think  of  the  confused,  igno- 
rant, defective  way  in  which  many  men  think 
and  speak  of  God,  how  thankful  we  should  be 
for  this  blessed  name,  on  which  to  rest  our 
own  hearts,  under  which  to  speak  of  Him  to 
others.     He  is,  indeed,  the  Almighty  Maker 


26  THE  PRESENCE  OE  CHRIST. 

of  all  things,  who  can  create  and  destroy. 
Yet  mere  sense  of  power  never  made  a  peni- 
tent yet.  To  confine  our  notion  of  God  to 
that  of  a  mighty  artificer,  is  to  ignore  His 
moral  attributes  and  to  place  His  redeemed 
creatures  on  the  same  level  with  the  earth  and 
the  sea  and  the  trees.  Doubtless,  also,  He  is 
a  judge,  -who  putt eth  dozvn  one,  a7id  setteth  up 
another  cpsaim  ixxv  ?].  Yet,  if  He  is  ONLY  this, 
what  hope  is  there  for  us?  From  the  great 
white  throne  the  heavens  and  the  earth  will 
flee  away.  The  word  SHEPHERD  draws  us 
with  cords  of  a  man  [Hoseaxi.  4]  to  One  who  can 
save  as  well  as  condemn,  for  it  includes  KNOWL- 
EDGE, and  PROTECTION,  and  PROVISION,  and 
TENDERNESS. 

First,  there  is  individual  knowledge.  In 
Europe,  where  a  shepherd  rules  by  fear,  not 
by  love,  drives  his  flock  in  front  of  him  in- 
stead of  going  first  himself  to  show  the  way, 
it  is  hard  to  appreciate  this.  In  the  East  it  is 
far  otherwise ;  to  borrow  the  Saviour's  words, 
the  shepherd  calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name^ 
and  leadeth  them  out.  And  when  he  putteth 
forth  his  own  sheep,  he  goeth  before  them,  and 
the  sheep  follow  him     for  they  know  his  voice 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE.  27 

rjohnx.3.4].  Then  the  shepherd  must  protect  his 
sheep,  sometimes  at  great  risk  to  himself, 
often  with  labor  and  fatigue.  In  the  snow- 
drifts of  winter  he  must  dig  them  out :  in  the 
heats  of  summer  they  would  die  of  drought 
if  he  did  not  find  them  water  ;  in  the  stormy 
wind  and  tempest  he  leads  them  under  the 
cover  of  the  sheltering  hill.  The  wolf  would 
come  and  scatter  the  sheep,  if  the  shepherd 
were  not  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  them. 
The  shepherd  knows  his  sheep,  protects  them, 
provides  for  them,  not  only  because  they  are 
his  property,  and  worth  so  much  money,  but 
because  he  loves  them.  This  idea  is  beauti- 
fully brought  out  by  Isaiah  in  reference  to 
Christ :  He  shall  feed  His  flock  like  a  shepherd; 
He  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  His  arm,  and 
carry  them  in  His  bosom,  and  gently  lead  those 
that  are  with  young  [isa.  xi.  ii].  It  has  been 
strikingly  observed  that,  in  that  wandering, 
dangerous  life  where  the  shepherd  and  the 
sheep  pass  days  and  weeks  together  without 
seeing  any  other  living  creatures  than  them- 
selves, there  springs  up  a  kind  of  friendship 
between  the  man  and  the  brute.  The  shep- 
herd feels  a  pitiful  love  to  the  dumb,  helpless 


28  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

creatures,  whom  the  Maker  of  man  and  beasf 
has  given  into  his  hand.  The  sheep  come  at 
last  to  connect  him  with  their  daily  food  and 
safety,  and  in  their  way  look  up  to  him  willi 
a  dependent  grateful  affection. 

Such  then  being  the  office  and  qualities  of 
a  good  shepherd,  this  illustration  may  help  to 
show  us,  though  in  a  very  imperfect  wa}% 
what  Christ  is  to  His  Church.  He  knows 
"His  sheep,  every  one  of  them,  from  the  least 
to  the  greatest.  Each  has  his  own  name,  each 
his  own  place  in  the  family  of  God.  /  know 
my  sheep f  arid  am  known  of  ^nine  [johux.  143. 
And  He  protects  them.  Not,  however,  by 
securing  them  immunity  from  "  the  changes 
and  chances  "  of  life.  It  would  be  but  a  poor 
manifestation  of  Divine  wisdom  and  mercy, 
to  shelter  us  from  that  discipline  of  trial  and 
sorrow  by  which  the  elect  of  God  are  trained 
for  home.  But  in  the  temptations  of  Satan, 
whether  they  be  doubts  that  undermine  our 
faith,  or  sudden  assaults  that  would  take  it  by 
storm,  or  anodynes  that  send  it  to  sleep,  or 
allurements  that  enchant  it,  tJie  name  of  the 
Lord  is  a  strong  tower :  the  righteous  runneth 
into  it  and  is  safe  [prov.  xviii.  103.     And  He  pro- 


CHRIS TIA N  A  SS URA NCR.  29 

vides  for  them.  The  Son  of  man,  who  once 
taught  us  to  say,  Give  us  day  by  day  our  daily 
bread  [Luke  xi.  3],  now  hears  that  prayer,  and 
Himself  answers  it  from  heaven.  And  as  foi 
love !  How  Christ  can  love,  with  all  the 
strength  of  Godhead,  with  all  the  sympathy 
of  manhood,  let  those  try  to  say  who  have 
once  felt  it,  let  those  ask  for  it,  who  desire  to 
know  what  it  can  be.  The  love  of  God  is  a 
boundless  ocean,  with  neither  breadth,  nor 
length,  nor  depth,  nor  height ;  and  while  we 
timidly  stand  on  the  shore,  and  only  suffer 
the  rippling  waves  to  cover  our  feet,  instead 
of  bravely  plunging  in,  and  trusting  all  our 
life,  all  our  happiness,  to  it,  we  can  know 
but  little  of  what  it  must  be  to  saints  and 
angels. 

UT  the  verse  does  not  merely  say,  The 
Lord  is  a  shepherd^  it  says,  The  Lord 
is  MY  shepherd.  This  is  a  step  further  in  the 
soul's  discovery  of  God.  If,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  there  are  three  kinds  of  assur 
ance,  and  the  assurance  of  understanding 
comes  first ;  in  this  assurance  of  understand- 
ing again,  there  are  two  steps  or  growths  of 


30  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

knowledge:  one,  the  abstract  discovery  of 
what  God  is  in  Himself;  the  other,  the  actual 
apprehension  of  what  He  is  to  those  who 
love  Him. 

For  the  former,  so  far  from  being  neces- 
sarily connected  with  the  latter,  is  often  sep- 
arated from  it  by  a  long  and  painful  interval. 
Like  a  starving  man  gazing  through  a  window 
on  a  well-spread  board  at  which  he  dare  not 
go  in  to  sit  down,  the  soul  that  seeks  God, 
but  has  not  yet  found  Him,  may,  as  we  have 
already  hinted,  appreciate  with  fatal  distinct- 
ness the  riches  of  His  grace  and  the  counsel 
of  His  love  for  others  ;  and  yet,  through  hear- 
ing without  believing,  may  find  its  own 
burden  only  more  insupportable  than  before. 
It  reasons  thus :  I  know  what  God  is  in  Him- 
self, and  what  He  is  to  His  people,  but  how 
can  I  induce  Him  to  be  all  that  to  me? 
Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord, 
and  bow  myself  before  the  high  God  [Micahvi.e] 
Clearly  I  must  in  some  way  obtain  His  love, 
whether  by  prayers  or  alms  or  sorrow.  Who 
then  shall  tell  me  when  I  have  wept  or  prayed 
enough  to  pay  up  in  full  the  purchase-money 
of  my  Redeemer's  pity?     When  may  I  dare 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


31 


to  say,  as  I  hear  others  saying,  "Jesus  Christ 
is  for  me  ? "  When  will  He  say  to  me,  as 
once  He  said  to  another,  TJiy  sins  are  for- 
given [Luke  vii.  <8]. 

It  is  something  indeed  to  have  got  so  far 
as  this,  even  to  understand  Christ's  work,  and 
to  desire  a  share  in  it.  Yet  such  an  one  only 
sees  men  as  trees  walking ;  and,  while  looking 
through  a  mist  at  the  letter  of  the  gospel,  stag- 
gers heavily  on  under  the  burden  of  the  law. 

Now  the  message  of  the  gospel  to  the  soul 
in  such  a  condition  is  this :  *'  He  is  yours,  my 
friend,  simply  because  He  tells  you  so ;  and 
what  you  have  to  do  about  it  is  to  believe." 
Faith,  no  doubt,  is  capable  of  many  and  vari- 
ous definitions  ;  and  there  are  different  aspects 
and  phases  of  it,  which  one  man  may  call 
love,  and  another  repentance ;  but  the  one 
result  in  every  case  is  just  coming  to  Christ 
for  life.  To  BELIEVE  IS  THE  FIRST  DUTY  OF 
MAN.  The  one  essential  truth  to  accept 
about  the  gospel  is,  that  no  money  can  buy 
our  salvation,  no  suffering  merit  it,  no  repent- 
ance procure  it,  no  holiness  produce  it.  The 
utmost  that  our  own  moral  action  can  do  for 
us,  and  this  too  is  by  the  grace  of  God,  is 


32  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

to  create  and  enlarge  the  receptive  faculty  in 
us.  If  we  will  not  take  salvation  as  a  gift,  we 
can  not  have  it  at  all. 

The  last  step,  and  that  which  alone  com- 
pletes our  knowledge  of  God,  is  to  be  able  to 
say,  I  know  both  what  God  is  in  Himself,  and 
what  He  can  be  to  His  people,  not  from 
books,  nor  from  hearsay,  nor  merely  from  His 
account  of  Himself  in  His  Word,  but  simply 
from  what  He  has  Himself  been  to  me.  I  am 
not  reasoning  myself  into  what  I  ought  to 
feel ;  I  feel  from  what  I  possess,  and  what  no 
man  can  take  from  me,  for  no  man  gave  it  to 
me.  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  for  He  has 
been  a  shepherd  to  me.  Not  only  from  what 
He  has  promised,  but  also  from  what  He  has 
performed,  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed. 
And  a  blessed  truth  it  is,  when  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  writes  it  on  the  soul.  The  Saviour  is 
mine,  and  I  am  His :  all  to  me  that  a  shep- 
herd can  be  to  a  sheep,  all  to  me  that  God 
can  be  to  a  creature.  He  thinks  of  me;  He 
cares  for  me.  He  shelters  me.  He  understands 
me.  He  is  as  much  and  as  really  mine  as  if 
I  were  at  this  moment  with  Him  in  heaven, 
faultless  before  the  presence  of  His  glory  [jude  24i. 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


33 


Once  more,  as  the  result  of  this  discovery 
is  the  soul's  confidence,  /  shall  not  want. 
The  positiveness  of  this  sentence  is  as  striking 
as  its  comprehensiveness.  It  is  not  the  utter- 
ance of  a  prayer,  it  is  the  statement  of  a  con- 
viction ;  while  memory  unlocks  the  treasures 
of  past  mercy,  hope  reposes  itself  on  the  un- 
changeableness  of  God. 

And  if  it  is  positive,  it  is  "  exceeding 
broad."  I  shall  not  want.  The  psalmist,  we 
observe,  did  not  even  think  it  worth  while  to 
specify  any  of  the  things  he  was  likely  to 
want.  Every  need  of  his  life  seemed  abso- 
lutely guaranteed  to  him  as  he  rested  under 
the  wing  of  God.  Security?  The  eternal 
God  is  thy  refuge^  and  under^teath  are  the  ever 
lasting  arms  [oout.  xxxui.  27].  PROVISION  ?  He 
that  spared  not  His  own  Son^  but  delivered 
Him  up  for  us  all,  hoiv  shall  He  not  with  Him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  CRom.  viii.  32].  GRACE  ? 
My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  n  cor.  li.  9].  LoVE  ? 
That  deepest,  most  unutterable,  most  insatiable 
of  all  the  needs  of  man  !  When  God  can  be 
faint  or  weary,  when  He  can  turn  His  face 
from  the  poor  destitute  in  anger  or  scorn, 
when   He  can  grow  cold  toward  those  whom 


34 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


He  has  loved  and  redeemed  and  called,  then 
our  doubts  and  fears  may  have  some  founda- 
tion. But  to  think  that  God  can  change,  is  to 
deny  that  He  is  God.  For  I  am  the  Lordj  1 
change  not ;  therefore  ye  sojts  of  Jacob  are  not 
consumed  cMai.  iii.  6]. 

Oh  blessed  truth  of  the  sufficiency  and 
faithfulness  of  God ;  would  we  but  let  it  pos- 
sess our  hearts !  Whatever  our  needs,  He 
can  supply  them,  for  He  is  God  ;  He  will  sup- 
ply them,  for  He  is  love.  Incessant  as  may 
be  our  wants,  small  and  trifling  as  may  be  our 
cares,  harassing  and  anxious,  as  with  the  man- 
liest and  strongest  of  us,  this  daily  earthly  life 
must  sometimes  be,  the  Son  of  God  is  still 
Son  of  man.  In  His  own  human  nature, 
glorified  indeed,  yet  human  still,  human  al- 
ways. He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
MS  [Heb.Tii.  25].  Wc  havc  j7ot  an  high-priest 
which  can  not  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted 
like  as  we  are,  yet  without  siit  [Heb.iv.i5]. 

Only  let  us  believe,  and  our  joy  shall  be  full. 
Let  us  honor  God  by  trusting  Him  entirely. 
Let  us  be  as  willing  to  receive  as  He  is  willing 
to  bestow.     Let  us  give  Him  the  only  thing 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


35 


in  the  world  He  cares  for;  the  only  thing  we 
have  to  give  Him  worth  giving ;  the  only 
thing  He  will  not  take  by  force,  for  unless 
given  freely  it  is  worthless  ;  the  very  same  gift 
that  He  has  Himself  first  given  us,  only  it  does 
not  seem  worth  our  looking  at  —  even  the 
heart :  and  then,  not  in  a  greater  willingness 
on  His  part  to  bestow,  but  in  a  greater  capac- 
ity on  ours  to  accept,  the  Lord  will  be  our 
shepherd.  He  will  possess  what  He  died  to 
win ;  we  shall  be  the  dwelling-place  of  God. 


mm 


wo  thoughts  more  will  tolerably  com- 
plete this  part  of  our  subject.  Christ  is 
a  shepherd  for  all  who  wish  for  Him.  Christ 
is  a  shepherd  for  all  possible  conditions  of 
place,  and  age,  and  time. 

The  former  of  these  truths  is  good  to 
kindle  hope  in  hearts,  which  have  grown  sick 
over  the  deferred  conversion  of  children  or 
friends,  may  even  possibly  stir  a  movement 
of  faith  and  repentance  in  a  soul  now  half 
paralyzed  by  the  thought  that  it  is  cast  away. 

It  is  wonderful  how  fertile  the 
1  I.       1.  t_     •     •  i.-         Testimony  of 

human  heart  can  be  m  mventmg    ScriMuT-e, 

reasons   why    God     should    not 


36  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

save  US ;  it  is  equally  wonderful  how  the 
blessed  Saviour  anticipated  all  such  reasons 
during  His  ministry  on  earth.  Is  it  said,  ''  I 
am  lost  "  ?  The  Son  of  man  is  coine  to  save 
that  which  zvas  lost  [Matt.xviii.u]  Is  it  said,  "  I 
can  give  no  reason  why  God  should  save  me, 
except  that  I  wish  to  be  saved  "  ?  Ho,  every 
one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he 
that  hath  no  money  :  come  ye,  buy  and  eat,  yea, 
come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money,  and 
without  price  Lisa.  iv.  i]  Is  it  said,  '*  God  re- 
quires faith,  and  to  believe  is  just  the  one 
thing  I  can  not  do,  for  I  am  full  of  doubts  and 
difficulties  "  ?  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest 
[Matt.  xi.  28].  Is  it  said,  either  of  one  by  himself, 
or  by  others  about  him,  **  There  is  no  fear, 
no  desire,  no  care  about  these  things  in  that 
soul.  Would  there  were — for  then  he  might 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  But  now,  how 
can  we  hope ;  what  can  we  do  for  him  ? " 
The  answer  is,  "  That  soul  is  redeemed,  for 
Jesus  died  to  save  it.  Wait  and  pray."  The 
angel's  message  to  the  shepherds  at  Bethle- 
hem is  perhaps  the  fullest,  freest  gospel  evei 
preached  to  man.     Let  us  learn  it  by  heart. 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE. 


37 


Behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  .i 
born  this  day,  in  the,  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord  [Lukcii.io.ii].  Not  a 
merited,  not  a  purchased,  but  a  BORN  Saviour: 
not  only  for  Jews  at  Bethlehem,  but  for  all 
people  everywhere :  on  whom  the  single 
claim  for  mercy  is  our  lost  humanity,  with 
whom  the  only  condition    is,  Come  unto  me 

fMatt.  xi.  28]. 

And  if  the  Word  of  God  is  not  sufficient 
to  give  confidence — not  through  any  doubt- 
ing of  its  truth  or  blessedness,  but  through 
the  inability  of  the  soul  to  appropriate  it  to 
its  own  needs — two  points  still  deserve  to  be 
suggested ;  for  we  know  not  whether  shalt 
i)rosper  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both 
shall  be  alike  good  [Eccies.  xi.  6]. 

One  of  them  is  a  fact,  visible 
r    r  1  Of  the  Church, 

before    our    eyes    everywhere,     -^ 

even  the  Church  of  God.  As  an  external 
witness  to  the  historical  truth  of  Christian- 
ity, the  mere  existence  of  the  Church,  apart 
from  any  explanation  of  it,  has  yet  to  be 
appreciated  at  its  full  value.  If  Moham- 
medanism  is   a   testimony  to   the  existence 


38 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


of  Mcthammed,  Christianity  is  a  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Christ.  Our  present 
object  is,  however,  to  consider  it,  in  the  visi- 
ble body  of  its  faithful  and  living  members, 
as  an  evidence  of  the  mercy  of  God.  The 
Church,  in  one  aspect,  is  a  portion  of  re- 
deemed humanity  saved  in  Christ  forever;  it 
is  the  possession  of  Christ,  already  purchased 
by  His  blood,  and  presently  to  be  ransomed 
from  death  in  the  resurrection  unto  life.  And 
the  question  to  ask  is,  If  we  behold  here  an 
evident  purpose  of  God  to  save  some,  why, 
my  brother,  or  my  sister,  should  not  that  pur- 
pose extend  to  you  ?  Why  should  not  you 
be  among  those  whom  God  will  glorify? 
Why  should  you  be  shut  out  from  the  bene- 
fits of  that  cross  and  passion  endured  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world  ?  If  no  one  has  come 
from  heaven  to  tell  you  that  you  are  to  be 
saved,  no  one  has  come  to  any  one  else  to 
tell  them  so.  Certainly  no  one  has  come  to 
tell  you  that  you  are  to  be  lost.  Even  if  you 
were  a  heathen,  and  had  only  just  heard  of 
Christ,  that  would  be  no  bar  to  your  salva- 
tion. Every  man  and  woman  on  this  re- 
deemed earth  may  plead  the  Saviour's  name 


CHRISTIAN  ASSURANCE.  39 

with  the  Father  who  gave  Him,  and  need  not 
fear  to  plead  in  vain. 

But  to  be  in  the  Church  of 
^     ,    .     ^     ,  .   ,  .      .         Of  Baptism, 

God  IS  to  have  a  special  invita- 
tion to  His  mercy ;  and  just  as  every  circum- 
cised Jew  was  justified  in  regarding  himself 
as  one  of  God's  peculiar  people,  so  every  bap- 
tized Christian  may  plead  the  name  which  is 
above  every  name,  as  the  name  by  which  he 
himself  is  called.  Whatever  may  be  the  dif- 
ficulties of  belief,  or  the  diversities  of  doctrine 
about  holy  baptism  (and  they  chiefly  spring 
from  the  silence  of  Scripture  about  the  bap- 
tism of  infants),  if  we  believe  anything  about 
it,  surely  we  must  believe  that  it  brings  us 
into  a  more  visible  relation  to  God  than  we 
were  in  before ;  that  if  it  binds  us  to  filial 
obedience,  it  pledges  Him  to  fatherly  love ; 
that  if  it  is  a  responsibility,  it  must  also  be  a 
privilege ;  that  if  it  is  a  reality  and  not  a 
mockery,  it  must  be  a  sign  of  His  readiness 
to  save.  If  we  believe  more  than  this  about 
baptism,  as  some  doubtless  do,  then  the  argu- 
ment for  pleading  it  with  God  is  made  so 
much  the  stronger.     If  we  believe  less  than 


40  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

this,  surely  we  are  inconsistent  in  accepting 
infant  baptism  at  all.  Whatsoever  is  not  of 
faith  is  sin  [Rom.x1v.23];  and  rather  than  treat  one 
of  Christ's  holy  sacraments  as  a  mere  act  of 
ecclesiastical  registration,  let  us  altogether 
postpone  it  till  our  riper  years.  Well,  then,  if 
any  one  doubts  God's  mercy  toward  him,  or 
toward  one  he  loves,  let  such  a  one,  with  all 
reverence,  but  with  all  simplicity  and  earnest- 
ness, plead  this  baptism  with  God.  Let  him 
say,  '*  Lord,  Thou  hast  begun  the  work,  wilt 
not  Thou  finish  it?  Thou  didst  look  on  me 
in  favor,  when  I  could  not  with  my  own  lips 
pray  to  Thee.  Now  that  I  ask  of  Thee  Thy 
favor  for  myself,  wilt  Thou  send  me  empty 
away?  If  I  do  not  deserve  Thy  mercy  now, 
I  did  not  deserve  it  then.  Hast  Thou  kin- 
dled hopes  only  to  disappoint  them?  Hast 
Thou  taught  me  to  call  Thee  Father,  only  to 
refuse  to  own  me  as  a  child  ?  I  ask  for  Thy 
love  and  for  Thy  grace,  that  I  may  walk 
humbly  with  Thee  as  a  son  with  a  parent. 
Not  because  I  have  a  right  to  it,  but  because 
Thou  hast  promised  it  to  them  that  ask  Thee, 
give  me  Thy  free,  Thy  full  salvation." 


CHRIS  TTA  JV  A  SS  URA  NCE. 


41 


Once  more,  the  briefest  glance  at  this 
psalm  may  satisfy  us,  that  it  traces  David's 
history  over  his  entire  life ;  and  so  far  from 
being  the  sudden  voice  of  a  youthful  enthu- 
siasm, is  the  profound  experience  of  gray 
hairs. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  friend  for  life. 
For  all  its  seasons,  whether  youth,  or  man- 
hood, or  old  age ;  for  all  its  risings  and  fall- 
ings, its  losses  and  gains,  its  joys  and  cares, 
His  brotherly  sympathy  is  ready,  and  entire 
and  full.  To  wish  to  shut  Him  out  of  any 
part  of  our  life,  or  any  possession  of  our  heart, 
or  any  crisis  of  our  history,  or  any  secret  of 
our  experience,  is  to  grieve  Him — is  yet  more 
to  impoverish  ourselves. 

And  if  this  is  the  area  of  our  privilege,  it 
is  the  condition  of  our  peace.  No  doubt  it  is 
a  solemn  thing,  if  we  adequately  grasp  it,  to 
take  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  us  wherever 
we  go,  to  surrender  to  Him  whatever  we 
possess,  to  consult  Him  in  whatever  we  do. 
Yet  life  will  be  less  frivolous  if  we  try  to  live 
it  under  His  eye.  It  need  not  be  less  happy, 
for  He  who  gave  His  presence  at  the  mar- 
riage-feast in  Cana  recognizes  and  sanctifies 


42 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


all  human  and  innocent  joy.  The  Lord  is  my 
shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want :  here  is  at  once 
our  safeguard,  our  dignity,  our  gladness.  How 
can  we  fear  anything,  how  can  we  miss  any- 
thing, when  God  and  Christ  are  ours? 


II. 

DIVINE   PROVIDENCE. 


•he  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures:  he  LEADETH  MB 

BESIDE  THE  STILL  WATERS." 

*'  God  governs  this  ivorld^  governs  you  and  fne,  down 
to  the  very  depths  of  our  being.  And  we  possess 
the  power  of  choosing  right  and  wrong:  rights 
by  the  grace  of  God  ^  and  wrong  by  our  failing  to 
use  that  grace;  and  as  responsible  for  such  a 
power  we  shall  be  summoned  at  last  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.''^ — Archbishop  Thom- 
son. 


HAT  do  we  mean  by  Di 

subject. 


T)        .J  •)     T      -i.   Nature  of  the 

vine    rrovidence  r     Is   it  ..,;,v.^/ 

foresight,  or  is  it  govern- 
ment ?  Is  it  an  interruption  of  order,  or  is  it 
included  in  the  order  which  it  may  be  sup- 
posed to  interrupt?  Where  does  it  begin, 
and  where  does  it  end  ?  What  does  it  include, 
and  what  does  it  exclude?  Is  it  special  as  well 
as  general,  or  does  the  general  providence  con- 

(43; 


44 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


tain  and  imply  the  special?  Is  it  for  indi- 
iduals  as  well  as  for  nations,  and  for  heathens 
as  well  as  for  Christians,  and  for  bad  as  well 
as  for  good  men  ?  Does  it  operate  on  us  irre- 
sistibly, or  are  we  free  to  go  our  own  way  if 
we  please  ?  Are  there  any  outward  signs  or 
tokens  by  which  we  can  infallibly  discover  its 
leadings  ?  and  if  not,  what  is  our  best  way  for 
ascertaining  them  ? 

Put  in  its  plainest  and  broadest  form,  the 
one  question  underlying  the  whole  matter  is 
simply  this — "  What  is  God  willing  to  be  to 
us  in  our  daily  life  ?  "  and  precisely  in  propor- 
tion to  the  importance  of  the  subject  is  the 
desirableness  of  thinking  clearly,  as  well  as 
feeling  heartily  with  respect  to  it. 

Now  on  almost  all  the  questions  already 
suggested  the  second  verse  of  the  Twenty- 
third  Psalm  throws  light.  First,  it  teaches  us 
that  the  fountain  of  Divine  Providence  is  not 
a  blind  fate,  but  a  living  and  personal  God, 
holding  our  world  and  all  in  it  in  His  own 
right  hand,  the  Lord  and  King  of  men.  He 
maketh  me  to  lie  down  :  He  leadeth  me. 

If  the  New  Testament  tells  us  of  a  per- 
sonal Saviour,  the  Old  Testament  tells  us  of  a 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE.  ^t 

personal  God.  This  was  indeed  the  essential 
strength  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  faith :  and 
though  some  narrowed  it  into  the  intolerance 
and  exclusiveness  of  denying  to  the  rest  of 
mankind  the  care,  or  even  the  notice,  of 
Jehovah,  they  intensified  it  as  few  Christians 
do  now.  It  was  the  promise  of  God  to  Abram  : 
/  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation^  and  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great  coeu.  xii.  2].  It 
was  the  conviction  that  possessed  Hagar's 
soul  when  the  angel  found  her  in  the  wilder- 
ness :  Thou,  God,  seest  me  [gph.  xvi.  is].  It  was  the 
substance  of  Jacob's  vow  after  the  vision  at 
Bethel :  If  God  will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep 
me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will  give  me 
bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  1 
come  again  to  my  father  s  house  in  peace,  then 
shall  the  Lord  be  my  God  iG^n.xxwiw  20,21].  It  was 
the  Divine  message  to  Israel  in  Egypt  by  the 
hand  of  Moses:  I  have  surely  visited  you,  and 
seen  that  which  is  done  to  you  in  Egypt,  and  1 
have  said  I  will  bring  you  up  out  of  the  afflic- 
tion of  Egypt  [i^xod.  iii.  16, 17].  The  Psalms  are  more 
or  less  the  repetition,  under  every  form  of 
expression  and  every  variety  of  experience,  oi 
the  psalmist's  personal  and  abiding  conscious 


46 


THE  PRE  SEA  CE  OF  CHRIST. 


ness  of  a  God  above  him  and  around  him 
ruling  the  world  for  his  sake,  covering  his 
head  in  the  day  of  battle,  listening  to  his 
prayers,  putting  his  tears  into  His  bottle, 
keeping  him  as  the  apple  of  an  eye.  In  the 
mystical  language  of  the  Canticles  it  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  idea  of  a  mutual  and  personal 
possession  :  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  His 
[Cant.  ii.  16].  Yet  neither  David  nor  Solomon  can 
surpass  the  impassioned  tenderness  of  the 
language  in  which  Jeremiah  describes  the 
origin,  and  explains  the  proof  of  it :  /  have 
loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love  :  therefore 
with  loving-kindness  have  I  drawn  thee  uex.xxxi  s]. 

And   here   let   us    remember 
Divine  Provi-    ,i     ,  i.        i.   j.  i. 

dence  to  be  ^hat  we  must  not  try,  we  must 

viewed  in  the  not  even  wish,  to  separate  from 
light  of  Divine  ^j^-^  ^^^^  ^^.^^j^  ^^  ^  YiVrng,  per- 
b>07^ereignty.  *=»  &'  jr 

sonal,  Divine  Ruler,  the  equally 

great,  equally  indisputable  truth  of  a  living, 

personal.  Divine  and  sovereign  will.     If  man 

could  not  be  man  without  a  will,  how  could 

God  be  God  ?     Why  are  some  of  us  so  afraid 

of  the  sovereignty  of  God?     Surely  much  of 

such  fear  must  spring  from  ignorance  of  His 

nature;  much  of  it,  also,  from  doubts  of  His 


DIVINE  rROVIDENCE.  ^y 

goodness.  Separate,  indeed,  will  from  char- 
acter ;  and  then  the  more  irresistible  the  will; 
the  more  terrible  may  be  its  results.  Nothing 
in  all  the  world  is  so  intelligible  or  so  rea- 
sonable as  devil  worship,  if  the  only  God  we 
know  of  is  a  vindictive  and  cruel  tyrant  never 
to  be  appeased  but  by  blood  and  pain.  But 
our  God  is  a  Father.  And  the  Lord  descended 
in  the  cloudy  and  stood  with  him  there  ^  mid  pro- 
claimed the  name  of  the  Lord.  ....  The  Lord, 
the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suf- 
fering and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth, 
keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity 
and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no 
means  clear  the  guilty  [Exod.  xxxtv.  5-7].  He  is  a 
Father,  both  merciful  and  holy ;  merciful  be- 
cause He  is  holy,  and  holy  because  He  is 
merciful ;  whose  sovereignty  is  but  the  exer- 
cise of  His  mercy  ;  for  all  the  paths  of  the  Lord 
are  mercy  and  truth  unto  such  as  keep  His 
covenant  and  His  testimonies  fPsaimxxv.  loi.  Yet 
He  is  never  indulgent  to  sin  in  any  one  ;  He 
never  passes  by  those  who  willfully  persevere 
in  it,  whoever  they  be ;  He  hastens  rather, 
out  of  very  love  to  them,  to  deliver  them  out 
of  it.     The   righteous  Lord  loveth   righteous- 


^8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ness  ;    His  countenance  doth  behold  the  up^ 

right   CPs;ilin  xi.  7]. 

Therefore,  if  we  look  at  Divine  Providence 
in  the  light  of  the  Divine  sovereignty,  and 
then  contemplate  the  Divine  sovereignty, 
whether  as  a  general,  universal  truth,  or  in  its 
application  to  our  individual  case,  in  the  light 
of  the  Divine  character,  instead  of  being 
startled  by  it,  or  never  venturing  to  allude  to 
it  save  with  hushed  breath,  we  shall  come  to 
look  on  it  not  only  as  one  of  the  attributes  ot 
God,  but  even  as  displaying  the  glory  of  His 
infinite  righteousness :  we  shall  exclaim  with 
the  apostle,  Oh  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  [Rom.  xi.  333. 
Divine  Providence  is  the  acting  of  Divine 
will ;  a  will  irresponsible  save  to  the  harmony 
of  its  own  perfections,  irresistible  in  the  final 
result  of  its  eternal  purpose,  though  rather 
through  the  wise  combination  of  various  and 
even  opposing  forces,  than  by  limiting  the 
freedom  and  so  destroying  the  responsibility 
of  men ;  a  will,  on  which  the  sheep  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  repose  the  assurance  of  their 
certain,  because  predestined,  glory ;  a  will 
which  is  the  mainspring  of  all  godly  zeal  for 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


49 


the  salvation  of  others,  since  He  will  have  alt 
men  to  be  saved^  and  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth  ci  Tim.  it.  u] ;  a  will,  which  now,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  we  must  learn  to  trust,  and  to 
do,  and  to  love,  and  to  suffer;  and  about 
which  our  daily  prayer  must  be,  that  it  may 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  Heaven. 


J  ND  this  brings  us  to  the 

1        .    ^  .     ,,  Result  of  Divine 

second  pomt  m  the  verse.  Providence,— 


the  result  of  this  Divine  Provi- 
dence :     G?'eejt  pastures   a7id  still  waters^  or 
as  Mr.  Perowne  more  exactly  renders  it,  "  pas- 
tures of  grass  and  waters  of  refreshment." 

The  imagery  of  the  verse  sketches  for  us 
the  pleasant  picture  of  long,  waving  grass  in 
rich  meadows,  where  the  tired  sheep  can  lie 
down,  sheltered  from  the  burning  sun,  and 
browsing  as  they  lie.  We  seem  also  to  see 
glimmering  in  the  thick  heat  the  still,  deep 
pool  of  cool  water,  not  bubbling  noisily  over 
rough  stones,  and  balking  with  its  shallow- 
ness the  eager  thirst  of  the  impatient  flock, 
but  accessible,  abundant,  satisfying.  Taken 
out  of  its  figure  the  verse  assures  us  that 
there  is  always  abundance,  always  refresh- 
4 


50 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


ment,  if  we  are  walking  in  the  ways  of  God. 
What  a  truth  this  is,  if  we  could  take  it  alto- 
gether for  our  own.  It  is  true  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, if  we  meet  them  and  bear  them 
in  the  right  spirit ;  it  is  true  at  all  times  and 
seasons,  in  all  places  and  countries;  for  Jo- 
seph in  prison,  for  Moses  at  Horeb,  for  Elijah 
by  Cherith,  for  Paul  at  Rome,  for  John  Brad- 
ford at  the  stake,  for  solitary  Henry  Martyi 
in  the  Gulf  of  Persia,  for  Richard  Williams  ii 
Patagonia,  offering  up  his  life  to  God,  for  Rob- 
ert Hall  in  his  Cambridge  study,  rolling  in  bit- 
ter pain.  In  David's  way  of  putting  it,  the 
Lord  is  my  shepherd.  I  shall  7iot  zuanty  for  he 
leadeth  me  to  the  pastures  that  are  green,  and 
to  the  waters  that  are  still.  In  St.  Paul's  way 
of  putting  it,  it  is,  My  God  shall  supply  all  your 
need^  according  to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ 

Jesus    [Phil,  iv-  19]. 

But  here  some  one  will  ask,  "  Is  this  always 
true  ?  Ought  it  to  be  always  true  }  Does  any 
one  on  earth  so  find  it  ?  Are  there  no  excep- 
tions to  the  rule  which  prove  it  and  maintain 
it?  Has  not  the  soul,  like  the  earth,  its  ap- 
pointed changes,  and  its  needful  alternations 
of  heat  and  cold,  of  day  and  night,  of  summer 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE,  51 

and  winter,  of  drought  and  rain  ?  For  indeed 
my  own  experience  is,  that  the  pasture  is  not 
always  green,  the  water  is  not  always  still  for 
me:  and  tell  me  if  this  may  not  sometimes 
be  God's  own  will  about  me,  and  not,  of 
necessity,  through  my  own  sin  ?  " 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  the  j^  .^^  ^^^^^^^ 
verse  does  not  so  much  express  and  final  tend- 
the  uniform  and  unvarying  pres-  ^^^'^^ 
ent  effect  of  Divine  Providence,  as  its  general 
purpose  and  tendency  in  the  end.  To  borrow 
two  illustrations,  one  from  the  imagery  of  the 
Psalm,  the  other  from  the  actual  dealings  of 
God  with  Israel :  when  it  comes  to  pass  that 
the  grass  is  all  eaten,  and  the  pool  filled  by 
the  winter  rains  drunk  up,  the  sheep  must 
change  their  place  of  pasture,  and  while  on 
the  road  from  the  old  halting-place  to  the 
new,  instead  of  rich  herbage  and  cool  springs, 
there  may  be  a  glaring  and  waterless  plain. 
Israel  in  the  wilderness  had  to  pass  Marah  on 
their  road  to  Elim  :  and  they  could  not  stay 
at  Elim  long,  for  they  were  on  their  march  to 
Canaan.  Under  such  circumstances,  memory 
and  hope  are  the  springs  of  action ;  the  sheep 
have  still   their  shepherd  leading  them,  the 


52 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


believer  still  is  safe  under  the  wing  of  his  God 
There  are  times  (and  when  we  look  back  at 
them,  we  see  they  were  blessed  times)  when 
Christ  himself  is  felt  to  be  our  only  food  and 
joy  and  stay  and  friend ;  when,  in  the  weari- 
ness of  our  life's  journey,  and  in  the  entire 
drying  up  of  the  wells  of  human  gladness,  we 
fall  back  on  Him,  the  shepherd  of  our  souls, 
that  He  Himself  alone  and  entirely  may  be 
our  "  pastures  of  grass  and  our  waters  of  re- 
freshment." We  learn  then,  what  afterward 
we  never  quite  forget,  how  to  refer  all  things 
to  Him  and  to  take  all  things  from  Him  :  we 
understand  then  how  the  psalmist  could  say, 
nay  (though  humbly  and  timidly),  we  venture 
to  say  it  after  him,  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
Thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  de- 
sire beside  Thee  [Ps.ixxiii.25]. 

Another  truth,  however,  claims 
Morale  not  only  .     r      1  1  1,  j     r 

material.  ^^  ^^  heard  here,  and  of  an  im- 

portance which  it  is  impossible 
to  overestimate:  namely,  that  the  abundance 
and  refreshment  spoken  of  in  this  place  are 
not  only  material,  but  moral ;  in  other  words, 
they  are  not  so  much,  perhaps  not  so  frequent- 
ly, in  the  nature  of  outward  circumstances,  as 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


53 


in  repose  and  contentment  of  heart.  For  Di- 
vine Providence  means  the  arrangement  of  all 
our  life,  not  only  of  its  bright  side,  but  also 
of  its  dark.  It  may  mean  sickness  as  well 
as  health  ;  death  as  well  as  life  ;  loss  as  well 
as  gain ;  peril  as  well  as  safety ;  shipwreck 
by  sea  and  accident  by  land ;  murrain  to  our 
flocks ;  sickness  in  our  homes.  There  is  no 
immunity  for  one  man  more  than  another 
from  troubles  of  this  kind,  whatever  his  er- 
rand, whatever  his  character.  St.  Paul  him- 
self tells  us  that  he  tJirice  suffered  shipwreck 
[2 Cor. xi. 25],  and  peril  of  all  kinds  was  the  unva- 
rying feature  of  his  missionary  journeys.  It 
neither  honors  God,  nor  trusts  Him,  nor  right- 
ly interprets  Him,  to  receive  good  at  His  hand 
and  not  to  receive  evil.  To  let  God  choose 
for  us  and  to  be  satisfied  with  His  choice,  here 
is  the  secret  of  peace.  In  returning  and  rest 
shall  ye  be  saved ;  in  quietness  and  in  confidence 
shall  be  your  strength  cisa.  xxx.  i5].  To  be  a  sheep 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  to  be  a  child  of  the 
Eternal  Father,  to  be  a  subject  of  the  heaven- 
ly kingdom,  to  be  an  heir  of  the  exceeding 
weight  of  glory,  is  to  have  the  machinery  of 
the  Divine  government  for  our  protection,  the 


54  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

resources  of  the  Divine  treasury  for  our  pro. 
vision  ;  now  the  love  of  God  for  our  possession, 
presently  the  vision  of  God  for  our  reward. 
All  that  God  is,  all  that  God  has,  is  for  His 
people.  The  outward  features  of  our  life  ma}' 
not  be  all  that  we  should  choose  them  to  be ; 
there  may  be  things  we  wish  for  that  never 
come  to  us ;  there  may  be  much  we  wish  away, 
that  we  can  not  part  from.  The  persons  with 
whom  we  live,  the  circumstances  by  which  we 
are  surrounded,  the  duties  we  have  to  perform, 
the  burdens  we  have  to  bear,  may  not  only  be 
other  than  what  we  should  have  selected  for 
ourselves,  but  may  even  seem  inconsistent 
with  that  formation  and  discipline  of  character 
which  we  honestly  wish  to  promote.  But  it 
is  faith  that  overcomes  the  world,  not  a  sense 
of  enjoyment.  The  end  of  life  is  not  personal 
happiness ;  it  is  the  image  and  glory  of  God. 
We  need  not  envy  others  what  God  has  given 
them  and  denied  us,  as  if  He  were  hard  to  us 
and  kind  to  them.  The  same  love  that  has  in 
this  instance  given  them  what  was  safe  for 
them,  and  denied  us  what  was  not  safe  for 
us,  has,  we  may  be  quite  sure,  also  denied 
to  them   in  other  instances  blessings,  which 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE  55 

they  wish  for,  but  may  not  have,  and  the  en- 
joyment of  which  they  behold  and  envy  in 
ourselves.  God  is  just  in  His  ways  with  all 
men ;  but  He  is  also  wise  and  kind ;  and 
knowing  us  better  than  we  know  ourselves, 
fully  understanding  how  greatly  we  are  af- 
fected by  the  outward  events  and  conditions 
of  life.  He  has  ordered  them  with  a  view  to 
our  entire  and  final,  not  only  our  immediate, 
happiness ;  and  whenever  we  can  be  safely 
trusted  with  pastures  that  are  green  and  wa- 
ters that  are  still  in  the  way  of  earthly  bless- 
ing, the  Good  Shepherd  leads  us  there. 

Once  more,  to  point  somewhat  So77teizmes  ac^ 
higher,  and  to  indicate  yet  an-  companied 
other  aspect  of  Providence,  ^^'^^  '"^^"^• 
which  to  some  may  seem  so  far  above  them 
that  they  can  never  reach  it ;  it  is  often  God's 
way  with  those  who  love  Him  best,  not  as  a 
chastisement  for  sin  (on  which  something  will 
be  said  in  the  next  chapter),  but  as  a  distinc- 
tion and  a  piVilege,  to  teach  them  the  fellow- 
ship of  Christ's  sufferings,  and  so  to  make 
them  more  conformable  to  His  death.  Our 
blessed  Master,  though  He  were  a  son,  yet 
learned  He  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suf- 


56  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

fered  [Heh.v.  s].  How  does  St.  Paul  describe  hia 
own  life — a  life,  after  that  of  his  Lord,  per- 
haps the  very  noblest  and  hardest  and  most 
successful  life  ever  yet  lived  on  this  earth  ? 
In  all  tilings  approving  ourselves  as  the  minis- 
ters of  God,  in  much  patience^  in  afflictions,  in 
necessities,  in  distresses,  in  stripes,  in  imprison- 
ments, in  tumults,  ht  labors,  in  zuatchings,  in 
fastings  [2  cor.  vi.  4, 5].  It  is  an  utter,  nay,  a  dis- 
honest, confusion  of  terms  to  say  that  these 
things  can  be  in  themselves  pleasant  to  us,  or 
otherwise,  at  the  moment  we  feel  them,  than 
grievous  and  burdensome.  Pain,  hunger, 
isolation,  misrepresentation,  disappointment, 
mockery?  To  speak  of  such  things,  even 
when  endured  for  Christ's  sake,  as  green  pas- 
tures and  still  waters,  is  to  call  evil  good  and 
good  evil,  is  to  put  bitter  for  sweet  and  sweet 
for  bitter.  There  is  no  evading  the  meaning 
of  Christ's  words.  If  any  man  will  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself  y  and  take  up  his  cross, 
and  follow  me  [Matt,  xvi.24].  St,  Paul  bore  in  his 
body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  those 
were  marks  of  pain.  But  does  it  therefore 
follow  that  there  was  no  strength  to  bear  the 
pain,   no   blessed  consciousness    of   a  divine 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


57 


presence,  going  with  him  and  giving  him  rest 
everywhere?  When  he  fought  with  wild 
beasts  at  Ephesus,  was  not  Jesus  with  him  ? 
When  they  stoned  him  at  Lystra,  was  not  his 
soul  rejoicing  in  the  thought  that  tribulation 
was  the  way  to  the  kingdom  ?  Therefore, 
though  the  wilderness  is  not  a  green  pasture, 
though  sickness  is  not  health,  nor  toil  rest, 
nor  loneliness  a  troop  of  friends,  nor  a  prison 
cell  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  home,  to  live 
may  be  Christ,  anywhere  and  anyhow.  And 
thus  we  find  the  same  apostle  at  one  moment 
describing  the  sharpness  of  his  outward  suf- 
ferings, at  the  next  moment  the  blessedness 
of  his  inward  peace.  We  are  troubled  on  every 
side,  yet  not  distressed ;  we  are  perplexed,  but 
not  in  despair ;  persecuted,  but  not  forsake^i ; 
cast  down,  but  not  destroyed :  always  beari7ig 
about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesiis^ 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  mani- 
fest hi  our  body  [2cor.iv.8-10]. 

Thus  (to  recapitulate)  we  must  not  so  mis- 
understand God's  meaning  in  this  promise  as 
to  suppose  that  the  processes  of  His  Provi- 
dence can  always  be  as  pleasant  as  the  result, 
or   that    any    set    of  outward    circumstances, 


58  THE  PRESENCE  OE  CHRIST. 

prosperous  and  desirable  as  they  may  be,  can 
bring  us  either  happiness  or  blessing,  apart 
from  the  spirit  in  which  we  interpret  them,  or 
the  character  in  which  they  find  us  ;  or,  once 
more,  that  the  "  green  pastures  and  still 
waters  "  may  not  sometimes  to  the  eye  of 
sense  be  utterly  devoid  of  all  visible  and 
earthly  prosperity,  when,  for  the  advancement 
of  Christ's  kingdom  as  well  as  for  his  own  ulti- 
mate glory,  the  believer,  like  the  apostle  be- 
fore him,  fills  up  that  which  is  behi^id  of  the 
afflictio7is  of  Christ  in  his  flesh  for  His  bodys 
sake,  which  is  the  Church  [Coi.  i.  24]. 


UT    there  is  yet   another  ^^^  persuades 

consideration  which  may  instead  of  cotn^ 

even  further  help  to  explain  to  P^^^^^S- 

us  why  the  pastures  are  not  always  green,  the 

waters  not  always  still. 

"  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down — he  leadeth 
me."  The  divine  government  is  a  moral 
government ;  its  method  is  not  to  compel, 
but  to  persuade.  The  Good  Shepherd  does 
not  drive,  but  lead,  and  the  sheep  follow  Him 
for  they  know  His  voice.  The  words  "  maketh 
them."   may  indeed   sound   like  compulsion 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


59 


yet  they  describe  the  purpose  of  His  Provi- 
dence, rather  than  any  forced  result  of  it ;  and 
no  ingenuity  can  reconcile  the  idea  of  guiding 
with  that  of  violence.  In  solemn  truth,  God's 
rule  is  the  same  in  Providence  that  it  is  in 
grace.  By  any  and  by  all  means  He  vj\\S. 
cjraw  us ;  force  us,  never.  A  thoughtful 
writer,*  recently  deceased,  has  drawn  a  subtle, 
but  I  think  a  true,  distinction  between  the 
will  of  God,  or  what  His  nature  and  character 
would  desire  as  best  for  us,  and  the  decrees  of 
God,  as  finally  accomplishing  what  was  act- 
ually possible.  As  has  already  been  hinted, 
surely  we  may  see  this  in  the  word  "  lead." 
No  one  is  compelled  to  follow  a  guide. 
Scripture,  again  and  again,  in  the  Psalms,  and 
in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the  Gospels,  intro- 
duces the  image  of  wandering  and  straying 
sheep  ;  but  nowhere  is  it  assumed  that  the 
sheep  by  so  straying  lost  their  original  rela- 
tion to  their  shepherd,  or  that  mere  wander- 
ing can  turn  a  sheep  into  a  goat.  The  plain 
fact  is,  that  Divine  Providence  is  to  us  just 
what  we  suffer  it  to  be  ;  and  let  any  one,  who 


♦  Professor  A.  J.  Scott. 


6o  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

doubts  this,  read  very  carefully  the  last  seven 
verses  of  the  8ist  Psalm. 

Ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have 
life  [John  V.  20.]  was  the  pathetic  complaint  of  the 
Saviour,  about  those  whom  He  yearned  to 
save,  but  who  would  not  let  Him  save  them. 
He  is  of  age,  ask  him  ;  he  shall  speak  for  him- 
self  [John  ix. 21].  This,  in  the  first  instance,  was 
the  reply  of  the  blind  man's  parents  to  the 
Jews.  May  we  not,  admitting  its  abstract 
and  essential  justice,  apply  the  words  to  God, 
as  He  considers  the  actions  of  men  ?  And  if 
we  at  first  shrink  from  this  view,  as  on  man's 
side  too  much  aggravating  his  responsibility, 
on  God's  side  too  little  recognizing  His  sov- 
ereignty, let  us  apply  two  tests  to  it  which, 
in  their  combined  force,  may  persuade  us  of 
its  truth.  One  is  that  of  conscience,  long  ago 
used  with  irresistible  force  by  Dean  Alford  in 
vindicating  the  human  side  of  the  doctrine  of 
predestination  ;  the  other  is  that  of  experi- 
ence, which,  instead  of  speculating  what  men 
can  do,  discovers  it  from  their  acts. 

As  we  look  back  at  the  past,  and  muse  on 
the  share  we  have  ourselves  taken  in  the  at- 
tainment of  our  position,  in  the  use  of  oui 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE,  61 

opportunities,  in  the  improvement  of  ouf 
talents,  in  the  discharge  of  our  duties,  is  there 
no  feeHng  of  regret,  or  of  loss,  or  of  shame  ? 
Have  we  always  honestly  consulted  God  ? 
Have  we  always  obeyed  the  voice  of  con- 
science ?  Have  we  never  gone  the  way  of 
our  own  heart,  though  our  heart  and  our 
judgment  were  at  variance?  Do  we  not 
sometimes  feel  that  we  might  have  been  more 
happy,  more  useful,  than  we  are,  but  for  will- 
ful mistakes  of  our  own  ?  In  some  things,  it 
is  true,  we  are  not  the  makers  of  our  own 
history.  Our  birth,  our  parentage,  our  natural 
talent,  our  bodily  shape  and  constitution,  nay, 
to  some  extent,  our  character,  are  the  irrever- 
sible and  irredeemable  lot  which  He  who 
worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will  [Eph.  i.  11]  ordained  for  us  before  the  worlds 
were  made.  Providence,  if  we  may  so  speak, 
gives  us  our  start,  and  the  start  tells  on  the 
race.  Promotion  cometh  neither  from  the  east 
nor  from  the  west,  nor  from  the  south  [p^aim  isxv.  6]. 
But  it  is  for  us  to  run  with  patience  the  race 
that  is  set  before  us  [Heb.  xii.  1, 2] ;  and  while  our 
sense  of  dependence  convinces  us  of  the  ex- 
istence of  an   overruling  God,  and  our  con- 


ty2  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

science  confesses  that  we  do  not  always  obey 
Him,  our  instincts  of  energy,  and  self-reliance? 
and  ambition,  and  enterprise,  are  indisputable 
evidences  of  direct  responsibility.  Gratit/ide 
and  humility  compelled  St.  Paul  to  say,  By 
the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am  ;  yet  the 
sense  of  his  own  use  of  that  grace  justified 
him  in  adding,  /  labored  more  abundantly  than 
they  all  w  cor.  xv.  lo]. 


HERE  is  still,  however,  one  ^^/t//;?^  Provi- 

other  word  in    this  verse  dence for  Indi- 

which  contains  a  truth  as  im-  '^^^^^''■'^' 
portant  as  any  we  have  yet  considered,  and 
which  makes  all  the  difference  possible,  both 
in  our  conception  of  God  and  in  our  view  of 
life.  It  is  not  us^  but  ME.  He  maketh  ME  to 
lie  down — He  leadcth  ME.  The  Psalmist  is 
not  describing  the  care  of  a  shepherd  over 
the  entire  flock,  so  much  as  his  care  for  each 
individual  sheep  in  it ;  and  the  verse  recalls 
the  time  when  he,  who  was  afterward  called 
from  following  the  ewes  great  with  young  to 
feed  Jacob  his  people  and  Israel  J  lis  inherit  ance 
[Psalm  ]xxviii.7i],  was  but  a  humble  youth,  his 
sceptre  a  crook,  his  subjects  goats  and  sheep 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


63 


and  lambs,  his  dominions  wild  open  fields 
between  Bethlehem  and  the  Kedron. 

The  doctrine  of  a  Divine  Providence,  what- 
ever we  may  understand  by  it,  is  peculiar  to 
revealed  religion.  The  deities  of  the  Pagan 
world  (as  mythology  describes  them)  inter- 
fered with  the  affairs  of  men  only  for  vice  or 
pride ;  and  the  philosophers  who  found 
themselves  able  to  acknowledge  gods  at  all, 
preferred  to  think  of  them  as  dwelling  apart 
from  men  in  a  stately  and  perhaps  contemptu- 
ous repose. 

Barrow,  in  his  famous  sermon  on  the  Gun- 
powder Plot,  quotes  a  sentence  of  Cicero  to 
the  effect  that  "  the  gods  care  for  great  things 
and  neglect  small,"  a  statement  to  which  we 
should  be  willing  to  give  more  attention  if  he 
had  gone  on  to  explain  what  great  and  small 
mean  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  how  we  are  to 
know  when  to  apply  the  words.  No  doctrine 
more  than  this  one  of  Divine  Providence  ex- 
alts God  or  dignifies  man.  It  exalts  God  in 
setting  forth  at  once  His  power  and  His 
goodness.  It  dignifies  man  in  giving  to  each 
redeemed  human  being  his  own  personal  and 
inalienable  position  in  the  creation,  and  by 


64  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

placing  the  beggar  and  the  king,  the  little  in- 
fant and  the  man  in  his  prime,  the  lonely 
widow  and  the  powerful  statesman,  the  de- 
crepit pauper  and  the  conqueror  in  a  hundred 
battles,  on  the  same  level  of  entire  equality 
before  Him  with  whom  is  no  respect  of  per- 
sons [2  chron.  xix.  7].  It  is  in  no  feeble,  unhealthy, 
self-loving,  self-exalting  spirit  that  a  human 
being,  first  looking  into  himself  and  then  look- 
ing up  toward  heaven,  should  ask,  with  all 
reverence,  but  with  all  anxiety,  *'  Does  God 
care  for  me — will  God  help  me  ?  " 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  suggestive  re- 
mark that  the  microscope  was  discovered 
about  the  same  time  as  the  telescope :  and 
that  the  mighty  Creator  of  the  innumerable 
worlds  which  gem  the  fields  of  space,  was 
thus  found  willing  to  put  forth  the  resources 
of  His  omnipotence,  and  to  exert  the  secrets 
of  His  wisdom,  on  a  drop  of  water  or  a  but- 
terfly's wing.  For  no  one  who  believes  in  a 
God  at  all,  really  disputes  His  power ;  there 
are  no  degrees  of  power  with  Omnipotence. 
The  simple  question  is,  What  is  the  sphere  of 
His  power?  what  the  method  and  the  motive 
of  its   exercise?     Nay,  further,  any  one  who 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE.  65 

believes  in  God  as  a  moral  being,  is  prepared 
to  admit  the  general  benevolence  of  His 
character  and  the  wisdom  of  His  universal 
government ;  but  that  is  not  enough  for  those 
whom  God  has  so  formed,  so  disposed,  that 
each  needs  God  for  himself.  Man  is  not  sat- 
isfied to  share  only,  with  the  beasts  and  the 
birds  and  the  trees,  a  general  supervision. 
Life  is  too  vast,  too  solemn,  to  be  spent  alone. 
He  would  come  close  to  God,  and  feel  after 
Him  till  he  finds  Him. 

The  subject  we  are  consider-  ^^^  questions 
ing  actually  includes  two  ques-  for  considera- 
tions — one  of  less,  the  other  of  ^^^^' 
greater  moment ;  the  one,  the  use  of  a  word 
— the  other,  the  meaning  of  a  truth.  To 
take  the  last  first :  a  Christian  does  not  need 
to  be  reminded  that  He,  without  whom  not  a 
sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground,  hath  numbered 
the  very  hairs  of  his  head.  We  have  not  so 
learned  Christ  from  the  history  of  His  earthly 
Hfe — we  have  not  so  seen  the  Father  mani 
fested  in  His  Son,  as  to  dare  to  do  Him  the 
crowning  dishonor  of  doubting  for  a  moment 
His  full  and  tender  sympathy  for  each  one  ot 
His  redeemed  people,  or  of  refusing  to  be- 
5 


66  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

lieve  that  He,  who  made  the  worlds,  watcher 
over  a  little  child.  If  there  is  no  limitation 
of  infinite  power,  neither  is  there  any  of  in- 
finite love.  God  can,  God  will,  God  does  care 
for  us.  The  secrets  of  nature,  the  marvels  of 
creation,  the  mystery  of  redeeming  love,  the 
individual  experience  of  millions  upon  millions 
of  reflecting  and  intelligent  men — nay,  almost 
every  page  of  that  Book  which  is  luminous  with 
the  doctrine  of  a  Divine  Providence,  and  which, 
if  the  doctrine  be  false,  must  itself  be  the 
crudest  delusion  that  ever  mocked  mankind, 
— each  of  these  alone,  all  of  these  together, 
are  a  witness  to  the  superintendence  of  God. 
In  all  things,  and  at  aJl  times,  and  for  all 
needs,  and  under  all  difficulties,  in  things 
temporal  and  things  spiritual,  in  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  body  and  of  the  soul,  in  the  choice 
of  a  profession,  in  the  arrangement  of  a  home, 
in  work  and  in  rest,  in  ;itudy  and  in  holiday, 
in  marrying  and  in  giving  in  marriage,  in  the 
bringing  up  of  children,  in  the  selection  of 
servants,  in  perplexities  of  business,  in  the 
entanglements  of  society ;  however  small  our 
cares  may  be,  however  insignificant  our  con 
dition,    however    inextricable    our   confusion, 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE.  ^y 

nowever  dark  our  future,  He  knoweth  the  way 
that  I  take  [Job  xxiii.  lo]. 

It  is,  however,  one  thing  to  be  infallibly 
assured  of  the  love  and  care  and  protection 
of  God  for  each  human  being  in  all  the  affairs 
of  life,  and  another  thing  to  describe  this 
Providence  accurately,  and  to  explain  it  con- 
sistently with  the  other  operations  of  His 
will. 

The  word   ''special,"   as    ap-  Meaning  of 
plied    to    Providence,    is    often  Special  Prcrji- 
somewhat  loosely  used  by  those 
who  do  not  sufficiently  reflect  on  the  logical 
consequences  of  the  language  they  are  using, 
and  who,  in  their  intelligible  anxiety  to  recog- 
nize   and   adore    the    providential    care   and 
goodness  which  from  time  to  time  are  merci- 
fully  conspicuous    in    their    own    case,    feel 
tempted  to  describe  it  as  a  peculiar  interposi- 
tion  for  their  sake,   when   it   is   but    a   pre- 
arranged element  in  a  universal  plan. 

If  we  insist  on  a  so-called  "  Special  Provi- 
dence," as  an  exception  to,  and  an  interrup- 
tion of.  the  method  of  general  Providence, 
and  on  no  other  ground  than  that  of  our  own 
consciousness  (more  alive  to  it,  or  more  grate- 


68  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ful  for  it,  at  some  times  than  at  others),  it  is 
difficult  to  evade  the  objection  that  with  the 
all-wise,  all-seeing  God,  there  can  be  neither 
settled  purpose  nor  predestined  order;  then 
there  is  one  kind  of  government  over  us  to- 
day, called  general,  and  another  over  us  to- 
morrow, called  special.  Surely,  however, 
even  in  admitting  the  possibility  of  eccen- 
tricity and  change  in  the  Divine  counsels,  we 
impeach  the  wisdom,  and  complicate  the 
operations  of  God. 

For  some  it  is  enough  to  believe  that  there 
is  one  uniform  universal  government  over  us 
all :  always  the  same,  always  righteous  and 
merciful,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  in  quiet 
times  as  well  as  in  troubled  times,  when  we 
are  not  conscious  of  it  as  well  as  when  we 
are  ;  purposing  our  good,  contriving  our  hap- 
piness, willing  our  sanctification.  And  though 
at  some  times  more  than  at  others  we  are  im- 
pressed by  its  influence,  or  grateful  for  its 
blessings,  or  solemnized  by  its  judgm^ents ;  it 
is  the  same  government,  on  the  same  princi* 
pies,  of  the  same  God,  for  the  same  end. 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


69 


HE  word,  however,  is  but  Providence  in 
of  slight  consequence,  so  coftnection 

•    1,1  ,■!       with  Prayer, 

as  we   rightly   grasp   the  -^ 

doctrine  beneath ;  and  there  can  be  no  harm 
in  our  using  the  word  ''  Providential,"  when 
speaking  familiarly  of  the  Divine  dealings,  so 
long  as  we  are  careful  not  to  think  or  speak 
about  ourselves,  as  if  we  were  the  only  people 
in  the  world  God  cares  for :  if  also  we  beware 
how  we  recognize  His  kind  and  special  gov- 
ernment only  in  those  features  of  it  which 
happen  to  gratify  self.  The  practical  result 
of  our  belief  in  Divine  Providence  is  the  one 
thing  to  inquire  about ;  and  whatever  our 
private  theory  may  be,  it  need  not  give  us 
uneasiness,  and  it  can  not  seriously  misleac^ 
us,  if  only  it  encourages  us  in  prayer. 

As  has  well  been  said,  man  is  a  creature  that 
prays ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  speculative 
difficulties  of  prayer;  however  hard  some  of 
us  may  find  it  to  reconcile  the  notion  of 
prayer  moving  God  with  God's  infinite  and 
unerring  wisdom ;  in  spite  of  all  the  philoso- 
phers and  the  thinkers,  men  and  women  will 
go  on  praying  as  they  have  ever  done :  and 


70  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

what  is  more,  will  refuse  to  be  convinced  that 
their  prayers  are  in  vain.     In  plain  truth,  all 
the  difficulties  on  the  subject  (and  there  are 
difficulties)  simply  and  solely  spring  (as  Bish-' 
op  Butler  has  observed  about  revealed  relig- 
ion generally)  from  our  imperfect  knowledge 
of  God.    A  man  will  say,  "  Do  you  really  ex- 
pect an  answer  to  your  prayer  ?     For  if  you 
do,  you  are  only  in  other  words  asking  for  a 
miracle."     "  Well,  what   if  I   am  ?     Can  you 
tell  me,  my  friend,  what   a  miracle  is,  what 
nature  is,  what   God's  order  is,  what  inter- 
rupts and  what  does  not  interrupt  it,  what  is 
contrary  to  it,  and  what  is  merely  above  it, 
or  suspends  it?"     For  it  is  quite  begging  the 
whole  question  to  speak  of  miracles  as  some- 
thing against  nature  ;  when   possibly,  as  has 
been  observed,*  "  they  are  above  it :  not  the 
few  caprices  of  Providence  breaking  in  upon 
ages  of   order,  but  glimpses  of   the  Divine 
spiritual  cosmos  permitted  to  be  seen  amidst 
the  laws  of  the  natural  world,  of  which  they 
take  precedence,  just  as  in  the  physical  world 
one  law  can  supersede  another." 


*  "  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,"  vol.  ii.  p.  1046, 


DIVINE  FROVIDEXCE.  yi 

Let  US,  further,  for  a  moment  reflect  on  the 
infinite  wisdom  of  God  both  in  Providence 
and  grace,  and  consider  also  on  what  condi 
tions  it  is  promised,  that  our  prayers  shall 
prevail.  Known  unto  God  are  all  His  works, 
from  the  begimmig  of  the  world  i^cx.^^^-^^^-  To 
quote  language  well  worth  considering:  "  God 
has  so  arranged  His  Providence,  that  He 
provides  an  answer  to  prayer.  When  the 
question  is  asked,  How  does  God  answer 
prayer  ? — it  is  by  a  pre-ordained  appointment, 
when  God  settled  the  constitution  of  the 
world,  and  set  all  its  parts  in  order,"  and 
''  the  answer  to  prayer  proceeds  on  the  fore- 
seen circumstance  that  the  prayer  will  be  offer- 
ed ;  that  if  the  man  refuses  to  pray,  he  shall 
assuredly  find  it  fixed  that  no  answer  is  given."* 

For,  anyhow  God  has  only  promised  to 
answer  the  prayers  which  are  acceptable  to 
Himself.  If  we  ask  anything  according  to  His 
willy  He  heareth  us  [i  John  v.  i4].  Many  of  our 
prayers  are  not  answered,  because  they  are 
incompatible  with  our  real  good.  When,  how- 
ever, we  pray  in  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  (and 


"  Method  of  the  Divine  Government,"  pp.  222,  224. 


72  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

if  we  please  we  always  may),  then  we  pray 
according  to  the  will  of  God ;  then  we  ask 
and  we  receive,  we  seek  and  we  find,  we 
knock  and  it  is  opened  to  us.  Dr.  Barry  has 
observed  that  the  prayers  of  the  patriarchs 
were  principally  for  personal  or  domestic  bless- 
ings ;  those  of  Hebrews  under  the  monarchy 
for  national  blessings ;  those  of  New  Testa- 
ment saints  for  spiritual  blessings.  We  Chris- 
tians may  surely  unite  all  these  varieties  of 
prayer  in  our  own  case,  some,  of  course,  more 
at  one  time  than  another;  remembering  that 
the  one  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  pray  every^ 
where,  to  pray  always ;  above  all,  to  pray  and 
not  to  faint  [Lukexv.  n.  Prayer,  rightly  under- 
stood, is  but  a  child  going  into  a  parent's 
presence,  or  a  loyal  subject  asking  audience 
of  his  king ;  only  the  parent's  heart  is  always 
bountiful,  the  king's  sceptre  is  ever  stretched 
out  toward  us  to  bid  us  welcome.  If  there 
be  no  Divine  Providence,  then,  indeed,  there 
can  be  no  prayer ;  and  not  to  pray  at  all  im- 
plies either  that  we  have  no  need  of  God,  or 
no  faith  in  Him ;  but  just  as  we  trust  in  the 
goodness  and  wisdom  of  our  Maker,  will 
prayer  be  at  once  the  relief,  and  the  neces- 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


73 


sity,  and  the  habit,  and  the  strength  tii  our 
life :  and  whenever  doubts  flash  across  us  of 
God's  power  to  help  us ;  whenever  our  own 
will  is  in  hard  and  painful  conflict  with  His 
will,  let  us  think  of  the  Son  of  man  in  the 
shadows  of  Gethsemane,  who,  within  sight 
of  His  predestined  cross,  rested  the  prayer 
that  it  might  even  then  pass  away  on  the 
majestic  truth,  that  with  God  all  things  are 
possible.  He  nevertheless  submitted  His 
own  will  to  the  Father's,  and,  in  the  deepest 
sense  of  the  words,  was  heard  in  that  He 
prayed.  In  the  garden  He  said,  Nevertheless^ 
not  my  will^  but  thine ^  be  done  [Lukexxii.42];  and 
when  His  enemies  seized  Him,  and  Simon 
Peter  tried  to  rescue  Him,  He  answered,  The 
cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me^  shall  I 
not  drink  it  ?  [John  xvui.  n]. 

NLY  two  points  remain,  one  of  which 
contains  a  caution  that  may  prevent 
disappointment,  the  other  a  truth  that  will 
suggest  comfort. 

Are  there  any  signs,  one  will  ^.^  infallzble 
ask,  by  which  we  may  infallibly  signs  of  Divini 
discover  the  leading  of  Divine  ^^^^^■^'^^^^- 


74 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


Providence,  and  which  will  save  us,  not  only 
from  perplexity  and  anxiety  at  the  time,  but 
also  from  actual  mistake?  The  answer  is, 
there  have  been  such  signs  in  the  infancy  of 
the  Church  of  God  ;  there  are  none  now. 
When  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt,  a  pillar  of 
cloud  went  before  them  by  day,  and  a  pillar 
of  fire  was  over  their  head  by  night.  The 
Shechinah,  with  its  mysterious  gleam,  flashed 
on  high-priests  under  the  early  monarchy,  the 
revelation  of  the  Divine  Purposes.  Under 
the  Judges,  seers  or  prophets  had  the  power 
of  giving  information  through  supernatural 
means ;  and  it  was  on  an  errand  of  this  kind 
that  Samuel  first  met  Saul.  But  even  in  the 
time  of  the  Herods  these  signs  had  passed 
away.  The  Lord  steadily  refused  to  give 
signs  of  His  Messiahship  other  than  His  own 
miracles  :  and  the  reason  He  assigned  for 
His  refusal — TJie  kingdom  of  God  coineth  not 
with  observation.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  with- 
in you  [Luke  xvii.  20, 21] — appHcs  with  equal  force 
to  the  evident  fact,  that  the  way  of  God's 
Providence  can  not  be  known  by  outward 
marks  or  evidences ;  if  it  tarry,  we  must 
wait  for  it,  though  sooner  or  later  it  will  be 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


n 


made  manifest  to  the  obedient  and  childlike 

heart. 

At  some  times,  and  under  some  circum- 
stances, indeed,  God's  will  seems  to  flash  upon 
us ;  and  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  follow  it. 
But  our  difficulty  is  not  at  all  where  God 
works  independently  of  us ;  it  is  where  He 
works  with  us,  and  we  with  Him ;  where 
events  are  apparently  as  much  our  own  bring- 
ing about  as  His,  and  where,  in  the  use  of 
means,  at  the  best  imperfect  and  unreliable, 
we  seem  to  take  all  pains  sometimes  only  to 
go  wrong.  What  rules  are  there,  in  such  a 
case,  beyond  diligence,  and  patience,  and 
obedience,  and  prayer?  Surely  none.  Dili- 
gence in  consulting  friends  (though  indeed  we 
can  not  possibly  do  all  they  bid  us  when 
they  would  have  us  do  twenty  different 
things),  and  in  procuring  information,  and  in 
weighing  our  case  on  all  sides.  Patience,  for 
half  our  mistakes  in  life  come  from  being  in  a 
hurry,  and  we  are  just  as  likely  to  go  wrong 
if  we  rush  on  in  advance  of  God's  Providence, 
as  if  we  lag  idly  behind  it.  Obedience,  for  to 
be  willing  to  do  God's  will  is  the  leal  crux  of 
the  matter:  too  often  we  consult  Him,  going 


76 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


with  the  multitude  of  our  idols,  and  then  we 
are  taken  captive  in  the  toils  of  our  own  heart 
and  we  deliberately  pray  ourselves  into  oui 
mistake.  Then  prayer,  honest,  humble,  sim- 
ple, persevering  prayer :  and  we  can  do  no 
more.  But  God  knoweth  this  as  well  as  we 
do  ;  and  He  who  hath  promised  wisdom  to 
them  that  ask  it,  until  the  time  comes  will 
give  peace ;  when  the  time  comes  will  give 
direction.  Anything  is  more  possible  than 
that  God  should  not  guide  the  meek  in  judg- 
ment. Nothing  is  more  sure  than  that  when 
we  have  done  our  best.  He  will  acknowledge 
and  bless  it.  His  promise  is,  I  will  guide  thee 
with  mine  eye  [Ps.xxxi.s].  The  mere  glance  of 
the  eye  or  the  expression  of  a  feature  in  the 
face  of  one  we  love  and  understand  is  quite 
sufficient  to  indicate  his  wish  and  to  express 
his  mind.  So  will  it  ever  be  between  God 
and  His  people.  If  Divine  Providence  guides 
all  who  wish  to  be  guided  ;  yet  it  must  not 
be  held  responsible  for  the  mistakes  of  those 
who  love  their  own  way. 

It  may  often  indeed  happen,  that  when 
after  much  perplexity  we  have  taken  the 
course,   and    entered    the   path   that   seemed 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE.  yj 

best  at  the  time,  not  only  do  we  presently 
fail  to  perceive  how  it  is  the  best,  and  why 
God  should  have  directed  us  into  it ;  but  dis- 
asters and  disappointments  encountering  us 
in  it,  compel  us  to  doubt  if  we  have  been 
guided  at  all.  In  such  a  case  let  us  remember 
one  thing,  and  do  another.  What  we  are  to 
remember  is,  that  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by 
sight  [2  Cor  V. 7].  God  has  never  promised  to 
make  His  dealings  with  us  plain  and  clear  at 
the  moment.  It  may  take  months  and  years 
before  His  plan  all  unfolds  itself,  and  we  see 
how  the  path,  that  seemed  so  crooked  and 
thorny,  was  at  once  the  best  and  the  shortest. 
The  thing  to  do  is,  not  to  hasten  to  leave  it 
in  search  of  a  better  one,  but  patiently  and 
manfully  to  go  on  where  we  are,  trusting  that 
God's  wisdom  will  justify  itself  at  last,  and 
that  His  love  will  bless  to  us  our  present  per- 
plexity. Paul*  went  to  Rome  round  by  the 
prison  at  Caesarea.  Moses  first  went  into 
Midian  before  he  returned  to  Egypt.  We 
can  not  see  the  end  from  the  beginning  but 
God  can.  What  I  do,  thou  knowest  not  nozv, 
hut  thou  shalt  know  hereafter  [j*  hn  xiii.  71. 


78  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

"Weary  deserts  we  may  tread, 
A  dreary  labyrinth  may  thread, 
Through  dark  ways  underground  be  led ; 

"  Yet  if  we  will  our  guide  obey, 
The  dreariest  path,  the  darkest  way, 
Shall  issue  out  in  heavenly  day."  * 


NCE  more,  for  those  who  jy-^-^^  p^^.^ 
do  not  recognize  the  ex-  debtee  for  all 
istence  of  Divine  Providence,  ^"^^^' 
whether  they  are  heathens  or  Christians, 
strangers  to  us,  or  friends  and  kinsfolk, — is 
there  a  Providence  for  them,  though  they 
shut  their  eyes  to  it  ?  Is  there  a  purpose  of 
Divine  love  counseling  and  desiring  their 
good,  though  they  steadily  resist  it,  and  will 
not  suffer  it  to  bless  them  ?  Nay,  for  those  of 
us  who  are  conscious  of  wishing  to  follow  it 
and  yield  to  it  in  our  best  moments,  when  we 
disobey  it  and  go  wrong,  what  will  be  the  re- 
sult to  us  ?  and  will  the  sins,  and  failures,  and 
mistakes,  and  infirmities  of  past  years  never 
be  recovered,  never  be  repaired  ? 

Divine  Providence  is  for  all  men,  and  rules 

*  Trench. 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE. 


79 


all  men,  and  provides  for  all  men,  and  blesses 
all  men  in  proportion  as  they  are  willing  to 
be  blessed.  If  His  love  is  perfected  in  us, 
then  indeed  we  are  safe  and  happy  ;  if  it  is 
only  on  His  side  toward  us,  and  not  on  ours 
toward  Him,  then,  though  His  sun  equally 
shines,  His  rain  equally  descends  on  us ;  in  the 
higher  purpose  of  His  mercy  He  waits  to  be 
gracious ;  standing  at  the  door  of  our  heart 
and  knocking,  He  remains  outside  till  we  let 
Him  in.  There  are  many  ways,  were  they 
needed,  of  proving  this  Providence  of  univer- 
sal love.  We  who  love  Him  now  can  per- 
haps recall  the  time  when  we  did  not  love 
Him,  did  not  think  of  Him,  did  not  even 
wish  to  please  Him.  Yet  did  He  not  watch 
over  us  then,  biding  His  opportunity?  Did 
our  coldness  quench  the  flame  of  His  love,  did 
our  turning  away  make  Him  less  mighty  to 
save  ?  We  love  Him,  because  He  first  loved 
?^j- [ijohri iv.  19],  Here  is  the  account  that  every 
soul  conscious  of  its  acceptance  gives  to  itself 
of  its  salvation.  But  what  has  been  true  of 
us  is  true  of  others,  or  what  a  delusion  mis- 
sions must  be  !  God  gave  His  Son  to  redeem 
the  world;  because  He  loved  the  world  ;  and 


go  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

those  whom  He  loves  He  would  save.  There- 
fore, let  us,  thankfully,  unhesitatingly,  de- 
voutly, recognize  a  Divine  Providence  watch- 
ing over  and  waiting  for  all  men,  if  by  all 
means  He  may  save  some ;  and  let  this  be 
the  ground  of  our  confidence,  the  strength  of 
our  hope,  the  backbone  of  our  prayers,  about 
those  dear  to  us,  who  are  as  yet  without  God 
in  the  world. 

*'  I  say  to  thee,  do  thou  repeat 
To  the  first  man  thou  mayest  meet. 
In  lane,  highway,  or  open  street ; 

"  That  he,  and  we,  and  all  men  move 
Under  a  canopy  of  love, 
As  broad  as  the  blue  sky  above."* 

As  for  ourselves,  and  all  our  past  mistakes, 
and  follies,  and  blunders,  and  disasters,  for- 
getting those  things  which  are  behind,  we  will 
reach  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  befors 
[phii.iii.  13].  Let  us  beware  of  fretful,  feeble 
anxiousness,  which  unnerves  us  for  duty.  Let 
us    have   a   bright,  manly,   cheerful  trust    in 

"^  Trench. 


DIVINE  PRCVIDENCE.  gl 

God.  Perhaps  we  can  not  always  be  quite 
right,  but  an  honest  purpose  will  save  us  from 
serious  mistakes ;  and  as  we  have  observed 
just  before,  it  is  in  human  nature,  when  we 
have  once  decided  and  the  result  of  our  decis- 
ion is  yet  in  the  distance,  to  wish  we  had 
decided  differently.  Be  this  as  it  may,  God 
in  the  end  can  turn  even  our  failures  and  mis- 
takes to  His  glory  and  our  own  blessing ;  His 
wisdom  can  overrule  our  error,  and  His  mercy 
will  forgive  our  weakness.  If,  through  our 
own  fault,  not  His,  our  pastures  have  not 
been  as  green,  our  waters  not  as  still  as  they 
might  have  been,  we  may  thank  Him  if  He 
has  made  the  way  of  our  own  will  hard  and 
humbling  for  us.  To  be  taught  to  trust  God, 
through  suffering  the  consequences  of  mis- 
trust, is  a  lesson  worth  learning,  though  at  the 
price  of  much  sorrow. 

Nevertheless,  whatever  our  waywardness 
and  willfulness,  as  we  look  back  and  count  up 
our  past  blessings,  they  may  well  fill  our 
heart  with  thankfulness.  Dark  as  the  day 
may  have  been,  at  evening  time  it  shall  he 
light  [zech.  xiv.  7].  Sometimes  our  path  in  life 
seems  like  a  lane  full  of  windings,  where  the 
6 


8 2  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

steep  banks  shut  out  the  light  and  air,  and  all 
we  can  do  is  to  trudge  steadily  on  through 
the  thick  mire.  But  if  we  look  high  up  in 
front  of  us  we  shall  see,  as  Israel  saw,  the 
faint  blue  hills  of  the  Land  of  Promise  rising 
up  against  the  sky.  The  path  will  come  out 
at  length  in  full  view  of  the  Celestial  City ; 
and  at  last  we  shall  be  at  home. 


III. 

CHASTISEMENT. 


'■E   RESTORETH   MY  SOUL:    HE  LEADETH   ME   IN  THE  PATHS  OF  BIGHIV 

EOUSNESS   FOR  HIS   NAME'S  SAKE." 

^^ Prosperity  is  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testatnent^ 
adversity  is  the  blessing  of  the  New^  which  carm 
rieth  the  greater  benediction^  and  the  clearer 
revelation  of  God' s  favor ^'' — Lord  Bacon. 


F  it  is  possible  in  the  Twenty-third 
Psalm  to  trace  the  outlines  of  David's 
history,  it  is  equally  possible  in  the 
third  verse  to  guess  the  workings  of  his  mind. 
He  had  been  exulting  in  his  assurance  of  the 
Good  Shepherd's  love.  His  lips  were  yet 
trembling  with  that  exquisite  chant  of  praise 
for  pastures  green  and  waters  still,  when  sud- 
denly, it  may  be,  the  thought  flashed  across 
him — "  Has  it  been  always  so  ? "  and  while 
memory  recalled  the  interruption  of  mercy 
conscience  betrayed  the  cause.  "  Were  the 
pastures  green  and  the  waters  still  when  Bath- 

(83) 


84 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


sheba's  child  died  ;  or  when  Absalom  drove 
me  from  my  home  and  my  kingdom,  and  I 
went  up  Olivet  barefoot,  weeping  as  I  went 
up  ?  when  confusion  covered  my  face,  and  re- 
proach broke  my  heart,  and  all  God's  waves 
and  billows  went  over  me  ?  No :  yet  it  was 
through  my  own  sin,  not  through  the  un- 
faithfulness of  God.  I  had  gone  astray  like 
a  lost  sheep,  to  slake  my  thirst  with  draughts 
of  guilty  pleasure  in  the  way  of  my  own 
heart ;  and  the  rough  road  by  which  He 
brought  me  back  was  His  way  of  bringing  me 
out  of  my  sin.  It  was  to  restore  my  soul,  and 
to  lead  me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for 
His  name's  sake." 

The  meaning  Nothing  SO  much  tests  our 
of  Chastise-  knowledge  of  God,  or  our  actual 
ment.  standing-place  in   His  kingdom, 

as  the  way  in  which  we  interpret  chastisement. 
Those  who  are  altogether  without  God  in  the 
world  are  disposed  to  look  on  it  as  an  unkind 
and  unaccountable  interference  with  their 
happiness ;  an  evidence,  indeed,  of  Divine 
power,  but  not  of  Divine  goodness.  They  do 
not  hear  in  it  a  kind  voice  saying  to  them, 
Return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  [Hosea  xi-.  i].    They 


CHA  S  TISEMENT.  3  5 

do  not  bow  humbly  to  the  rod,  which  deals 
its  stripes  in  this  life,  in  the  hope  that  thereby 
they  inay  be  spared  in  the  next.  There  is 
suffering,  but  no  healing  process  afterward  ;  a 
sense  of  uneasiness,  but  no  real  sorrow'for  sin. 
Who  can  wonder  then  that  affliction  hardens 
instead  of  softening  them  ;  that,  instead  of 
coming  out  into  the  light  of  the  reconciled 
face  of  God,  in  the  spirit  of  a  penitent  child, 
they  go  back,  like  Pharaoh,  into  their  Egyp- 
tian darkness  with  hearts  of  stone ! 

David,  however,  in  a  very  different  spirit 
accepts  that  chastisement  of  which,  with  all 
his  prosperity,  he  had  as  large  a  share  as  most 
men.  He  connects  it  with  the  Providence  of 
God,  he  beholds  it  in  the  purpose  of  God,  he 
accepts  it  as  the  mercy  of  God,  he  recognizes, 
in  it  the  character  of  God.  And  this,  his  ex^ 
planation  of  it,  teaches  us  that  for  Christians 
there  are  two  aspects  in  which  it  may  be 
profitably  considered :  the  one,  what  God 
means  in  it  with  respect  to  us ;  the  other, 
what  He  means  in  it  with  respect  to  Himself. 
With  respect  to  us  He  means  restoration  and 
holiness.  Restoration  in  the  case  of  our  hav- 
ing gone  back  :  He  restoreth  my  soul.     Holi- 


86  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ness,  as  the  unvarying  and  ultimate  end  of  all 
His  dealings  with  us,  whom  He  has  from  the 
beginning  chosen  to  salvation  through  sanctu 
fication  of  the  Spirit^  and  belief  of  the  truth 
[2  Thrss.  ii.  13].  He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  right- 
eousness for  His  name's  sake  [ps.  xxiii.3]. 
Chastise7ne7it  ^he  office  of  a  shepherd  is  not 
is  for  Restora-  only  to  guide  and  protect  and 
^^^^*  provide   for  the  sheep,  but  also 

to  go  after  them  when  they  have  strayed 
away.  Our  Lord,  in  the  first  of  the  three 
parables  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  St.  Luke, 
appeals  to  this  as  to  a  universally  recognized 
habit  among  men.  What  man  of  you,  having 
an  hundred  sheep,  if  he  lose  one  of  them,  doth 
not  leave  the  ninety  and  7iine  in  the  wilderness y 
and  go  after  that  which  is  lost,  tmtil  he  find  it? 
[Luke XV.  4].  But  Ezekiel  assigns  this  office  to 
Messiah  :  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold, 
I,  even  I,  will  both  search  my  sheep,  and  seek 
them  out.  As  a  shepherd  seeketh  out  his  flock 
in  the  day  that  he  is  among  his  sheep  that  are 
scattered ;  so  zvill  I  seek  out  my  sheep,  a7id 
will  deliver  them  out  of  all  places  where  they 
have  been  scattered  in  the  clotidy  and  dark  day 

[Ezek.  xxxlv.  U,  12]. 


CHA  srrSEMENT. 


87 


Restoration  implies  wandering  or  backslid- 
ing, and  is  applicable  either  to  a  case  of  lapse, 
where  there  has  been  a  real,  though  not 
necessarily  a  visible,  falling  away  from  God  • 
or  to  a  besetting  sin,  which  is  seriously  affect- 
ing the  spiritual  state,  and,  like  a  rank  and 
noxious  weed,  must  instantly  and  at  any  cost 
be  cut  down  to  the  roots.  Of  actual  falls 
from  God,  open  or  secret,  David  himself  is  a 
memorable  instance.  When  the  man  after 
God's  own  heart  went  astray,  God  indeed  re- 
stored h'm,  but  it  was  with  pangs  and  convul- 
sions, as  when  a  man  all  but  drowned  strug- 
gles back  from  suspended  animation  into 
life.  The  greater  the  height  he  had  reached, 
the  deeper  his  fall  from  it ;  the  more  marked 
his  holiness,  the  more  scandalous  his  sin.  If 
ever  man  suffered  in  this  life  the  temporal 
consequences  of  guilt,  it  was  David. 

Yet  there  are  other  kinds  of  falling  away 
than  his.  Many,  whose  hearts  are  as  much 
estranged  from  God  as  the  psalmist's,  are 
never  surprised  into  an  outburst  of  crime, 
simply  because  they  are  too  cold  or  too 
cautious  to  commit  themselves  publicly.  Nay, 
their   secret    sins    may   be    of  quite    another 


38  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

kind  ;  sins,  it  may  be,  for  which  they  may 
even  gain  credit ;  men  will  praise  thee  when 
thou  doest  well  unto  thyself  [Psaim  xiix.  is] ;  yet  sins 
far  more  abhorred  by  Him  who  can  weigh 
motives  and  pity  weakness  ;  and  known  only 
to  Him  to  whom  all  hearts  are  open,  and 
from  whom  no  secrets  are  hid. 

We  have  an  instance  of  this  kind  in  the 
Church  of  Sardis.  /  know  thy  works,  that  thou 
hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead 
[Rev.iii.  1]  Stronger  language  than  this  could 
hardly  be  used  of  any  within  Christ's  king- 
dom. Yet  it  describes  the  actual  condition  ol 
thousands  upon  thousands,  who  have  lost 
their  first  love,  and  are  fallen  back  from  their 
early  aspirations ;  who  pray  and  yet  restrain 
prayer ;  who  open  their  Bible,  and  sit  with  it 
before  them  now  and  then,  but  in  no  sense 
really  use  it  as  their  spiritual  food  ;  who  give 
away,  but  never  really  deny  themselves  of 
anything  for  Christ's  sake ;  and  in  v/hom  a 
steadily  lessening  zeal  for  God,  and  a  wofully 
diminished  anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  others, 
indicate  but  too  surely  the  ebb  of  their  inner 
life. 

Human  judgment,  indeed,   must  not  pre- 


CHASTISEMENT.  gO 

sume  to  penetrate  either  into  the  recesses  of 
a  fellow-sinner's  conscience,  or  into  the  pos- 
sible meaning  of  the  righteous  chastisements 
of  God.  We  ought  to  judge  ourselves  ;  we 
ought  not  to  judge  our  brethren.  Yet,  per- 
haps, these  are  cases  which  more  than  any  re- 
quire the  knife  and  the  cautery  of  severe  afflic- 
tion ;  and  when  such  a  soul,  writhing  in  its 
misery,  bitterly  complains  that  its  punishment 
is  more  than  it  can  bear,  the  not  yet  drugged 
conscience  may  listen  to  the  question — Is 
there  not  a  cause  ?  For  when  sin  comes  to  a 
head,  and  discharges  itself  from  the  system  in 
a  complete,  though  in  a  virulent  outbreak,  the 
scandal  to  the  Church  maybe  greater,  but  the 
peril  to  the  sinner  is  less.  Fever  is  often  pref- 
erable to  paralysis.  The  loss  of  a  limb  may 
be  a  less  severe  shock  in  the  end  than  the 
gradual  corruption  of  the  blood,  or  the  steady 
enfeebling  of  the  vital  powers.  When  a  soul 
is  asleep,  yet  dreams  that  it  is  awake  ;  when 
the  discharge  of  religious  duties,  the  use  of 
religious  privileges,  the  companionship  of  re- 
ligious people,  and  the  uttering  of  religious 
phrases  condone  to  the  self-complacent  soul 
for  chilled  love  to  men  and  suspended  inter 


90 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


course  with  God,  it  is  not  a  soft  and  gentle 

voice  that  will   whisper  it   out   of  its  death 

sleep :    maybe    only   a   life-long   sorrow   will 

bring  it  back  to  the  Shepherd's  arms. 

^,    ...  But    over   and    above   the  in- 

Spectal  in~  ui-      r  n 

sta7tces  of         stances  of  a  public  lall  or  a  se- 

Chastisemeni    ^ret  decay,  there  is  the  yet  more 
in  Scripture.      _  .  r  •   ^ 

frequent  instance  of  special  acts 

of  sin  visited  with  special  acts  of  punishment ; 
the  act  indicating  the  habit ;  the  punishment 
not  only  suited  to  the  sin,  but  in  proportion 
to  it  ;  the  purpose  of  God  being,  not  to  cast 
off  and  destroy,  but  to  admonish  and  restore. 
Rebekah,  Jacob,  Moses,  Josiah,  Elijah,  are 
each  of  them  instances  of  special  sins  and  im- 
perfections meeting  with  special  chastisement ; 
and  these  are  written  for  our  adino7tition,  on 
whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come  w  cor.  x.  n]. 
Rebekah's  sin  was  that  of  favorit- 
ism.  Ihrough  her  scheming  par- 
tiality Jacob  was  successfully  urged  to  sup- 
plant Esau  ;  but  her  heart's  desire  when 
it  came,  was  as  an  apple  of  Sodom.  Both 
mother  and  son  were  punished ;  but  the 
mother's  penalty  is  the  more  significant. 
Thinking  to  send  her  son  away  for  a  few  days 


CHASTISEMENT.  9I 

till  Esau's  anger  was  abated,  unwittingly  she 
dismissed  him  forever ;  and  she  herself  found 
the  worm  that  was  to  gnaw  at  the  root  of  her 
gourd. 

Jacob's  characteristic  sin  was  de- 
ceit, the  flaw  that  runs  through  his  -^ 
whole  life,  and  robs  his  character  of  strength 
and  dignity.  But  as  he  sinned  in  deceit, 
so  was  he  punished  by  it ;  as  he  conspired 
to  deceive  his  own  parent,  his  sons  con- 
spired to  deceive  him.  The  heartless  false- 
hood of  Joseph's  pretended  death,  which 
withered  the  patriarch's  very  soul,  must  also 
have  smitten  him  with  a  bitter  remorse  for 
the  fraud  he  had  practiced  on  his  blind  father. 
His  sin  found  him  out,  and  pursued  him,  and 
would  not  leave  him,  till  he  laid  himself  down 
in  his  grave. 

But  if  we  pass  from  sins  to  faults — that  is, 
from  what  is  perverse  and  deliberate,  to  what 
is  simply  infirm  and  imperfect — we  shall  see 
how,  in  the  case  even  of  the  most  eminent  of 
God's  servants,  impatience  and  self-will  and 
unbelief  cause  us  to  wander  from  the  path  of 
duty,  and  compel  for  us  the  firm,  though 
tender,  admonition  of  God. 


02  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

Moses  thought  to  serve  God  when- 
he  went  to  visit  his  Hebrew  kins- 
men, and  when  he  desired,  though  at  his 
own  risk,  to  assert  their  cause.  But,  so  far 
as  we  can  see,  he  was  not  thereby  justified 
in  taking  the  law  into  his  own  hands,  and 
slaying  that  Egyptian.  It  was  hardly  trust- 
ing God,  who  knew  His  people's  sorrows  as 
well  as  he  did,  nor  was  it  really  aiding  his 
friends.  Anyhow,  the  result  of  it  was  that, 
unable  to  vindicate  himself,  he  had  to  flee ; 
and  though  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  we 
read  God's  own  approval  of  his  final  choice 
between  the  reproach  of  Christ  and  the  treas- 
ures in  Egypt,  there  is  not  a  word  to  defend 
that  hasty  homicide.  For  all  that  we  know 
to  the  contrary,  he  paid  as  his  penalty  an 
exile  of  forty  years  in  the  wilderness ;  and 
though  we  can  well  understand  how  that  time 
was  blessed  to  him  and  used  by  him,  yet  but 
for  that  characteristic  impatience  Israel  might 
possibly  not  have  had  to  wait  so  long  for 
their  freedom  ;  he  at  least  might  have  passed 
more  happily  that  third  of  his  noble  life. 

Josiah    is  a  signal   instance  of  the 
fota  .    £^^g_j     errors     into     which     self-will 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T. 


93 


may  sometimes  lead  a  good  man,  and  also 
of  the  severity  \^  ith  which  God  must  visit 
it.  The  Chronicles,  which  give  a  fuller  ac- 
count than  the  Kings  [2Chron.xxxv.2c-24],  make  it 
sufficiently  clear,  not  only  that  King  Necho 
had  no  personal  design  against  Judah  at  that 
time,  but  that  he  conceived  himself  to  be 
actually  carrying  out  the  designs  of  Divine 
Providence,  and  did  his  utmost  to  dissuade 
Josiah  from  hindering  them.  Josiah,  how- 
ever, for  reasons  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
examine,  obstinately  persisted  in  his  purpose. 
Bent  on  his  own  way,  he  had  it,  but  it  cost 
him  his  life  and  his  crown  ;  and  that  disas- 
trous end  to  such  a  promising  beginning  is  a 
terrible  proof  that  we  may  and  must  go 
wrong,  if  we  are  resolved  on  it,  in  spite  of  all 
warning  to  the  contrary ;  and  that  God  will 
not  interfere  to  preserve  His  own  saints  from 
the  consequences  of  headstrong  folly. 

Elijah,    strange    as    it    may   sound, 

r     J  J  J     Elijah, 

IS   an    mstance   oi    despondency   and 

unbelief,    which    God    could    not    altogether 

pass    over.        After    the    slaughter    of    the 

priests  on   Carmel,  we  should  have   thought 

him  capable   of  any   daring ;    and    had    that 


p4  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST 

great  blow  at  idolatry  been  instantly  fol- 
lowed up  by  decided  action,  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  might  have  been  restored  in  Samaria. 
But  when  the  message  came  from  Jezebel,  a 
great  panic  smote  the  prophet  with  sudden 
helplessness,  and  he  who  had  defied  a  whole 
priesthood,  with  a  king  at  their  head,  fled 
away  in  fear  at  the  threat  of  a  vindictive 
woman  ;  and  going  a  day's  journey  into  the 
wilderness,  that  no  one  might  trace  him  in 
his  flight,  at  length  asked  to  die.  Bent  on 
even  a  longer  flight,  he  was  graciously 
strengthened  by  God  for  so  great  fatigue ; 
yet  we  need  not  interpret  that  as  a  certain 
proof  that  God's  Providence  in  the  first  in- 
stance pointed  him  to  Horeb.  It  merely  im- 
plies that,  since  he  was  resolved  on  going, 
God  would  enable  him  to  reach  his  journey's 
end,  that  there  He  might  meet  him  and  ask 
him  about  his  fear.  But  surely  had  he  trusted 
in  God  that  He  would  deliver  him  and  yet 
further  use  him,  he  would  never  have  fled 
there  at  all.  In  one  point  of  view  it  was  so 
much  lost  time,  if  not  also  the  throwing  away 
of  an  opportunity,  which  was  never  repeated. 
The   Question    asked    of    him    is    significant 


CHASTISEMENT.  55 

enough  of  God's  interpretation  of  his  con- 
duct. Though  his  chastisement  was  confined 
to  reproof,  even  to  be  reproved  was  a  fall  for  a 
saint  like  him.  What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah  ? 
[1  Kings  XIX.  9] — this  was  his  Lord's  expostulation 
with  him  for  his  sudden  giving  way  to  that 
utter  despondency.  He  was  at  once  sent 
back  across  the  whole  extent  of  the  land,  and 
on  an  errand  of  as  great  peril  as  that  from 
which  he  had  so  lately  escaped. 

Let  us  then  remember,  that  even  our  faults 
grieve  the  good  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  our  in- 
firmities and  imperfections,  if  not  watched 
against  by  us,  must  be  chastened  by  Him. 
Though  God  is  not  extreme  to  mark  what  is 
done  amiss,  faults  may  grow  into  sins,  sins 
may  harden  into  habits.  Not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle  J  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should 
be  holy  and  without  blemish  [Epu.  v.  27];  this  is 
the  description  of  the  glorious  Church  which, 
in  the  day  of  His  return,  shall  be  worthy  to 
be  the  Lamb's  wife;  here,  too,  is  the  key  to 
the  discipline,  the  secret  of  the  purpose,  which 
13  in  Christ's  heart  about  us  now. 

Probably,  moreover,  if  we  had  the  same 
opportunity  for  analysis  and  induction  in  the 


^ 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


moral  government  of  God  that  we  possess  in 
His  natural  government,  we  might  come  to 
see  that  every  moral  act  inevitably  brings 
about  sooner  or  later  its  own  result,  as  any  oth- 
er effect  follows  any  other  cause  in  the  other 
departments  of  His  providential  kingdom  ; 
that,  in  this  respect,  we  are  still  under  a  sys- 
tem of  present  rewards  and  punishments,  the 
form  somewhat  changed,  but  not  the  essence ; 
the  principle  being  everlasting,  though  the 
manner  of  its  manifestation  transitor}^  Thus, 
in  this  court  of  law  there  is  no  appeal,  and 
for  these  offenses  (in  the  sense  of  a  present 
chastisement)  no  atonement.  Of  this  I  am 
profoundly  sure  that  Christian  people  need 
to  be  very  faithfully  warned,  and  very  care- 
fully instructed  on  the  close,  and  unfailing, 
and  continual  connection  between  sin  and 
sorrow.*  For  Christ  died,  not  to  save  us 
from  the  inevitable  consequences  of  our  ac- 
tions here  (which  would  simply  be  impunity 


■*  Let  any  one  who  thinks  this  language  too  strong, 
read  carefully  the  chapters  entitled,  "  Dieu  glorifi^  dans 
la  souffrance,"  "Jesus  Christ  notre  example  dans  la 
souffrance,"  "  Le  peche,"  "  L'homme  de  douleur,  et  les 
hommes  de  douleur,  "  in  Les  adieu.x  d  Adolphs  Mofiod, 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T. 


97 


in  sin),  but  from  the  deserved  penalty  of  our 
actions  hereafter.  To  spare  us  the  needful 
pain  of  chastisement  would  be  to  deprive  us 
of  the  only  medicine  which  can  remove  the 
cause,  as  well  as  heal  the  sorrow.  It  would 
not  only  frustrate  the  purpose  of  Christ's 
death,  who  gave  Himself  for  us,  that  He  might 
redeem  us  from  all  iniquity^  and  purify  unto 
Himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good  works 
[Titus  ii.  14],  it  would  also  contradict  the  prophet's 
explanation  of  chastisement,  given  through 
the  Spirit  of  God.  Wherefore  doth  a  living 
man  complain^  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his 
sins  ?  Let  us  search  and  try  our  ways,  and 
turn  again  to  the  Lord.  Let  us  lift  up  our 
heart  with  our  hands  unto  God  in  the  heavens 

[T.am   iii.  39-41]. 


UT  chastisement  is  sent  not  chastisement 
only  to  recall  the  back-  is  for  Sancti- 
slider,  or  to  set  the  mark  oifi'"'^''''' 
God's  displeasure  on  some  act  or  habit  of  sin  ; 
it  is  to  sanctify  us,  to  add  to  our  positive  and 
personal  holiness,  to  edify  us  higher  into  the 
Image  of  Christ.  Every  branch  in  me  that 
bearpth  not  fruit  He  taketh  away ;  and  every 
7 


98 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


branch  that  beareth  fruit,  He purgeth  it,  that  it 
may  bring  forth  more  fruit  [John  x  v.  2]. 

And  here  let  it  be  explained 
^slZlification,  wh^t  sanctification  really  means  ; 
what  is  possible  and  what  im- 
possible in  the  way  of  growth  in  grace,  and 
in  putting  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not 
mending  the  old  nature,  which  we  inherit 
from  Adam  ;  it  is  cultivating  and  developing 
the  new  nature  which  we  receive  from  Christ. 
The  old  nature  can  not  be  improved  ;  it  is 
under  a  ban  and  a  curse ;  it  is  to  be  crucified 
with  its  affections  and  lusts,  and  mortified  in 
its  members  ;  we  are  to  put  it  off  as  we  put  off  a 
worn-out  and  defiled  garment ;  nay,  w^e  are  to 
count  ourselves  dead  to  it,  as  if  it  had  no 
more  relation  to  us,  since  we  are  alive  to  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  The  soul  is 
like  a  house  of  which  strangers  have  taken 
possession,  and  lord  it  cruelly  over  the  owner. 
What  shall  you  do  for  your  liberty?  Can  you 
change  these  strangers'  hearts  and  make  them 
other  men,  so  that  you  would  be  content  or 
even  glad  they  should  remain  ?  That  is 
impossible.  Pride  will  never  be  humble,  lust 
will  never  be  pure,  selfishness  v/ill  never  think 


CHA  S  TISEMENT.  gg 

of  a  neighbor's  interests,  envy  will  never  ex- 
ult in  a  neighbor's  joy.  "  Old  inbred  habits 
will  make  resistance  ;  but  by  better  habits 
they  shall  be  entirely  overcome.""^  The  only 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  turn  them  out  by  bring- 
ing in  others  stronger  than  they,  who  will, 
little  by  little,  get  the  mastery  over  them. 
Thus  the  way  to  conquer  pride  is  to  culti- 
vate humility ;  if  we  would  be  gentle,  let  us 
practice  self-control ;  if  we  would  think  of 
others  and  help  them,  we  must  day  by  day 
try  to  bear  their  burdens.  The  old  affections 
must  be  expelled  by  new  ;  the  invading 
tyrants  must  be  besieged  and  cast  out  by 
the  legitimate  owners ;  and  though  we  shall 
carry  with  us  to  our  grave  the  roots  of  our 
old  nature,  though  not  till  we  have  cast  off 
the  garment  of  our  corruptible  flesh  shall  we 
have  our  full  liberty  as  the  sons  of  God,  it  is 
of  infinite  moment  for  us  to  ascertain  that 
the  only  way  of  holiness  is  to  overcome  evil 
with  good  ;  and  that  practically  there  is  nc 
limit  to  the  power  of  the  grace  of  God,  save 
that  which  is  imposed  by  ourselves. 


*   Thomas  i  Kcmpis. 


lOO 


THE  PRESENCE  OE  CHRIST. 


In  the  light  of  these  remarks  the  necessity 
and  the  purpose  of  chastisement  will  be  seen 
more  clearly.  Blessed  is  the  man  wJiom  Thou 
chasteneth,  O  Lord,  and  teacheth  him  out  of 
Thy  law  [ps.  xciv.  12].  Chastisement  instructs  us, 
softens  us,  educates  us,  elevates  us. 

There  are  many  lessons  it  teaches  us  of 
God,  and  the  world,  and  ourselves ;  but  the 
one  thing  we  have  first  to  learn,  and  the  lesson 
it  imparts  to  us  more  distinctly,  more  contin- 
ually than  any  other,  is  the  nature,  and  the 
depth,  and  the  complicatedness,  and  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  sin.  Thereby  we  see  how  sin, 
like  a  foreign  poison  in  the  blood,  affects  and 
corrupts  our  entire  nature,  tainting  innocent 
affections,  perverting  harmless  dispositions, 
and,  like  the  roots  of  a  noxious  weed,  spread- 
ing itself  secretly  over  the  whole  surface  of 
our  being.  Affliction  detects  our  secret,  and 
perhaps  unsuspected  faults,  much  in  the  same 
way  that  acid  acts  on  litmus  paper.  It  also 
decomposes  our  complex  character  into  all 
its  multitudinous  and  varied  elements,  laying 
bare,  to  our  surprise  and  sorrow,  deformities 
of  which  we  never  dreamed.  We  discover 
(and  any  child  of  God  can  testify  to  the  bit- 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T.  Id 

terness  of  such  discovery)  what  unbelief  hirks 
in  us,  what  unthankfuhiess,  what  desperate 
selfishness,  what  numbness  of  heart  both  to- 
ward God  and  man,  what  petulance  and  way- 
wardness, what  obstinacy  and  self-will,  what 
real  shrinking  from  close  intercourse  with  God. 
Then  if  we,  tainted  and  cheated  by  sin  as  we 
all  are,  come  in  any  degree  to  hate  and  fear 
it,  it  is  only  a  step  farther  to  regard  it  as  God 
regards  it :  and  to  see  how  it  is  not  His  hatred 
of  us,  nor  His  desire  to  destroy  us,  but  His 
hatred  of  sin,  and  His  purpose  to  save  us  from 
it,  that  brings  down  His  rod. 

There  are  three  distinct  proofs  of  God's  ab- 
horrence of  sin  :  Christ's  cross,  the  whole  crea- 
tion groaning  and  travailing  together  in  pain, 
and  hell.  Pain,  whether  of  body  or  mind,  is 
certainly  sometimes  the  visible  mark  of  God's 
displeasure  at  sin ;  and,  as  conscience  is  the 
witness  of  God  within  us,  sorrow  MAY  BE  the 
witness  of  God  without  us,  that  He  hates  it 
with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  v/ould  have  us  hate 
it  too.  The  Fifty-first  Psalm  brings  this  out  in 
a  remarkable  light.  If  ever  one  man  in  this 
world  was  cruelly  wronged  by  another,  Uriah 
.vas  wronged  by  David.     Yet  his  sin  against 


£02  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

man,  in  that  hour  of  his  overwhelming  re- 
morse, seemed  nothing  when  compared  with 
his  sin  against  God.  Against  Thee,  Thee  only, 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  Thy  sight  : 
that  Thou  niigJitest  be  justified  when  Thou 
speakest,  and  be  clear  zvJien  Thou  judge st  [Ps.  ii.4.] 
Let  us  all  see  that  there  can  be  no  real  begin- 
ning in  holiness,  much  less  no  true  growth  in 
it,  no  adequate  and  absorbing  appreciation  of 
Christ's  atoning  sacrifice,  no  crying  out  for 
pardon  through  His  precious  blood,  and  no 
living  gladness  in  it  when  it  is  found  :  no  hon- 
est wrestling  with  wickedness  in  our  own 
hearts,  and  no  determined  battling  with  it  in 
the  world  around  us,  without  deep  and  abid- 
ing convictions,  through  the  teaching  of  His 
Spirit,  of  its  utter  abominableness  before  God. 

But  there    is    another   result 
Chastisement  is  ,  ^  •       i       ^• 

for  Discipline.     Purposed  for  us  m  chastisement, 

which  affects  not  merely  the  ap- 
prehension of  truth,  but  the  molding  of  char- 
acter ;  which,  besides  enlarging  our  knowledge, 
fertilizes  our  heart.  Sorrow,  as  a  discipline  for 
the  soul,  subdues  the  will,  softens  the  temper, 
curbs  the  passions,  pulverizes,  so  to  speak,  the 
rough  excrescences  of  character,  which,  like 


CI  I A  S  TISEMENT. 


103 


lumps  of  hard  clay  on  the  surface  of  a  tilled 
field,  turn  the  edge  of  the  plow,  and  balk 
the  skill  oi  the  sower.  It  is  not  that  we  are 
to  lose  our  will ;  that  would  be  to  lose  our  in- 
dividuality ;  but  that  retaining  it,  and  subduing 
it,  we  may  offer  it  up  daily  as  a  living  sacrifice 
to  God.  I  have  surely  hcm'd  Ephraini  bemoaji- 
ing  himself  thus  ;  Thou  hast  chastised  me,  and 
I  was  chastised,  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to 
the  yoke :  turn  Thou  me,  and  I  shall  be  turned ; 
for  Thou  art  the  Lord  my  God.  Surely  after 
that  I  was  turned,  I  repented ;  and  after  that  1 
was  instructed,  I  smote  upon  my  thigh  [jer.xxxi.  18, 19]. 
There  are  thousands  upon  thousands  much 
chastened  because  much  loved  ;  because  much 
loved,  taken  such  pains  with,  that  they  might 
grow  like  God.  In  a  little  while,  instead  of  mur- 
muring at  it,  we  shall  exult  over  it  in  a  hymn 
of  praise  which  angels  might  ^wvy.  Till  then, 
let  us  glory  in  tribulation  also,  for  tribulation 
worketh  patience  lroiti  v.  sj. 

Another  end  of  chastisement 
.     ,         1  ,  c       Chastisement  is 

IS  to  educate  and  prepare  us  for  ^^  education, 

life.     He  who    knows   what   is 

coming  on  us  would  help  us  to  meet  it.     Not 

only  does  He  offer  us  blessing,  but,  what  is 


104  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  lHRIST. 

much  more,  He  would  make  us  capable  of  re- 
ceiving it,  and  enjoying  it,  and  retaining  it, 
though  by  a  process  of  trial  which,  at  the  mo- 
ment  of  its  coming,  may  make  us  stagger 
through  unbelief.  So,  where  life  is  to  be 
busy,  or  prosperous,  or  brilliant,  or  much  en- 
cumbered with  temptation,  affliction  acts 
through  the  memory,  like  ballast  on  a  vessel, 
to  keep  us  steady,  and  sober,  and  humble ; 
and  not  unfrequently  do  we  observe  in  the 
lives  of  Christian  men  an  interval,  longer  or 
shorter  as  it  may  be,  of  inactivity,  or  sickness, 
or  sorrow  of  a  marked  kind  divinely  interposed 
between  the  two  halves  of  their  life. 

Joseph  is  an  instance  of  this.  For  him  the 
prison  may  have  been  the  only  safe  approach 
to  the  throne.  No  one  can  govern  who  h^s 
not  first  learned  to  obey.  He  had  to  learn 
within  the  prison  walls  lessons  of  human  nat- 
ure, his  own  as  well  as  other  men's,  which  he 
could  not  have  learned  before,  which  it  would 
have  been  too  late  for  him  to  have  learned 
afterward.  He  was  also  to  be  instructed 
how  to  suffer  patiently,  how  to  be  silent  undei 
calumny,  how  to  requite  with  justice,  how  to 
recompense  with  mercy. 


CHASTISEMENT.  105 


UT  there  is  one  othtr  re-  chastiseinent  is 
suit    which   chastisement  a    preparation 


ai 


,  1      •       •  i        for  Heaven. 

ms  at  producing  m  us — greater  -^ 


nearness  to  God,  and  so  greater  meetness  for 
heaven.  As  it  is  impossible  to  overstate  the 
desire  of  God's  heart,  that  we  would  receive 
His  love,  and  walk  in  fellowship  with  Him, 
and  consult  Him  in  our  difficulties,  and  wor- 
ship Him  with  our  entire  souls ;  so  is  it  need- 
ful to  confess,  humbling  and  saddening  as  the 
confession  must  be,  that  few  of  us  do  this  will- 
ingly, or  heartily,  or  entirely,  though,  so  far  as 
we  go,  it  may  be  deliberately  and  sincerely : 
we  too  often  give  self  and  the  world  as  much 
as  we  can.  Him  as  little.  For,  though  we  can 
trust  God  for  our  salvation,  we  distrust  Him 
for  our  happiness.  We  look  to  Him  to  bless  us 
in  the  world  to  come,  we  look  elsewhere  to  be 
blessed  in  the  present  world.  Health,  money, 
friends,  advancement,  society,  knowledge,  busi- 
ness— these  are  the  gods  that  we  worship,  on 
these  we  rely ;  and  we  do  not  discover  that 
they  are  but  broken  cisterns  which  hold  no 
water,  until  God  shatters  them  at  a  blow,  and 
so  we  fall  back  on  Him  as  our  only  abiding 


lo6  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

portion,  In  whom  alone  are  the  fresh  springs 
of  our  Hfe.  Let  us  humbly  confess  that  God 
desires  us  and  we  do  not  desire  Him  ;  He  is 
ever  turning  toward  us  to  bless  us,  and  we — 
ve  are  ever  turning  away.  His  hands  are  fill- 
ed with  gifts  for  which  we  hardly  care.  His 
heart  is  overflowing  with  love,  which  does  not 
content  or  gladden  us,  unless  it  flows  in  the 
channels  we  ourselves  choose  for  it.  Idolatry 
is  still  the  characteristic  sin  of  men :  love  of 
this  present  evil  world  has  far  more  power 
over  the  best  of  us  than  we  think  it  has ;  and 
with  many  of  us,  it  is  only  when  health  is  im- 
paired or  money  is  lost,  or  friends  die,  or  oc- 
cupation is  suspended,  that  our  eyes  are  fully 
opened  to  discern  good  from  evil,  and  we  made 
willing  to  say,  /  luill  arise,  and  go  to  my  father^ 
and  will  say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven,  and  before  thee  [Lukeiv.  isj. 

And  thus, — for  no  one  can  be  spiritually- 
minded  without  being  heavenly-minded  as 
well, — as  earth  attracts  us  less,  heaven  at- 
tracts us  more  ;  we  confess  that  we  are 
strangers  and  pilgrims,  we  seek  a  city  yet  to 
come.  For  life  with  all  its  burdens  and  anx- 
ieties is  still  such  a  blessed  thing,  this  earth 


CHASTISEMENT.  107 

with  its  ties,  and  pursuits,  and  objects,  and 
possessions  has  so  much  in  it  to  occupy,  and 
fascinate,  and  gladden ;  friends  are  so  kind, 
home  is  so  happy,  knowledge  is  so  noble, 
nature  is  so  fair,  that,  say  as  we  will,  think  as 
we  may,  that  heaven  is  our  home,  and  this 
world  a  wilderness,  were  our  health  unbroken, 
and  our  tasks  unfinished,  and  our  energies 
fresh,  and  our  homes  full,  we  should  follow 
with  very  reluctant  steps,  and  moistened  eyes, 
and  a  heart  looking  behind  us,  the  messenger 
that  takes  us  away.  We  are  meant  to  love 
life ;  nay,  we  are  made  to  love  it.  Love  of 
life  is  no  sin,  it  is  merely  a  lower  kind  of  love 
than  a  desire  for  the  fruition  of  life  eternal  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb ;  and  the  Divine 
way  of  lifting  us  up  from  the  lower  level  to 
the  higher,  without  contradicting,  on  the  one 
hand,  God's  purposes  for  our  earthly  service, 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  crushing  the  beautiful 
human  affections,  which  are  the  features  of 
God's  own  image  in  ruined  yet  not  quite  de- 
faced souls,  is  by  gradually  weaning  us  from 
earthly  things,  rather  than  by  violently  alien- 
ating us  from  them  ;  by  correcting  and  ele- 
vating, rather  than  by  destroying  our  natural 


I08  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

instincts  and  capacities,  through  the  blessed 
prospect  of  the  inheritance  incorruptible  and 
undefiledy  and  that  fadeth  not  azuay  n  Peter  i.  4]. 
Nature  of  heav-  ^or  what  is  true  heavenly- 
enly-mmded'  mindedness?  Surely  not  a  cow- 
^^^^^'  ardly,   feeble,  sickly  craving  to 

get  rid  of  life  because  it  is  full  of  risks  and 
toil  and  change.  If  we  wish  for  heaven  only 
because  we  are  tired  of  earth,  we  shall  soon 
want  to  leave  it  and  be  back  here.  Heavenly- 
mindedness,  such  as  God  would  work  in  us, 
is  a  weariness  of  sin,  not  of  duty ;  a  desire  to 
see  God,  not  merely  to  leave  men.  To  be 
with  Him  for  whom  we  have  been  waiting; 
to  behold  Him  in  whom  we  have  been  be- 
lieving ;  and  to  adore  Him  whom  we  have 
tried  and  wished  to  love, /yet  never  with  the 
same  devoted  love  which  we  gave  to  husband, 
or  wife,  or  child,  or  friend ;  this  is  the  desire 
for  heaven  which  God  would  ripen  in  us  by 
His  dispensations  of  sorrov/,  a  desire  which  is 
perfectly  compatible  with  the  manful  and  en- 
tire and  cheerful  and  patient  discharge  of  all 
our  duties  here. 

'•  When  a  soul  has  seen, 
By  the  means  of  evil,  that  good  is  best. 


CHASTISEMENT. 


109 


And  throu2:h  earth  and  its  noise,  what  is  heaven's 
serene, 

When  its  faith  in  the  same  has  stood  the  test  , — 
Why,  the  child  grown  man,  you  burn  the  rod, 

The  uses  of  labor  are  clearly  done  ; 
There  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God, 

And  I  have  had  troubles  enough  for  one."* 

Such,  then,  are  at  least  some  of  the  pur- 
poses which  God  would  accomplish  toward 
His  people  in  chastening  them.  But  the 
verse  also  teaches  us  that  He  has  purposes 
with  respect  to  Himself:  FOR  His  NAME'S 
SAKE.  He  is  holy^  and  therefore  He  chastens 
us,  that  no  one  may  accuse  Him  of  counte- 
nancing sin.  For  His  sake  as  well  as  ours, 
and  for  the  world  as  well  as  for  the  Church, 
He  must  show  Himself  to  be  a  holy  God, 
loving  righteousness,  and  hating  iniquity. 


HERE    have    been   three  chastisement 
distinct  periods  marking  is  to  vindicate 
His  providential  government  of  God's  hoWiess. 
the  Church   in   its  features   of  blessing   and 
chastisement.    The  first  was  under  the  theoc 


*  Robert  Browning. 


no  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

racy,  when  the  plagues  on  Egypt  and  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked  Canaanites  marked 
the  period  when  Jehovah  himself  was  Lord 
and  King  of  His  people,  and  made  the  rod  of 
His  power  to  be  known.*  The  second  dates 
from  the  Kings  to  the  Incarnation,  when  God 
was  gradually  withdrawing  Himself  from  visi- 
ble and  supernatural  interference,  and  teach- 
ing His  people  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by 
sight.  And  this  being  a  time  when  men, 
whose  forefathers  had  seen  the  very  footsteps 
and  hand-prints  of  God,  began  to  doubt — 
since  these  had  disappeared — if  there  was  a 
God  at  all,  the  Psalms  abound  in  petitions, 
not  so  much  for  a  personal  vengeance  on  per- 
sonal enemies,  as  for  a  public  and  righteous 
retribution  on  the  enemies  of  God.  *'  Let 
God  show  Himself  to  be  a  living  and  holy 
God  by  punishing  the  wicked  and  rewarding 
the  good ;  "  this  is  the  one  thought  that  runs 
through  those  scriptures,  the  tone  and  spirit 
of  which,  when  not  precisely  understood, 
shock  and   perplex  some  of  us  now.     Such, 


*  I  am  indebted  for  the  above  thought  to  a  sermon  ol 
the  Rev.  James  Moorehouse. 


CHA  S  TISEMENT,  \  \  i 

for  instance,  is  the  meaning  of  the  prayer 
A  rise^  Thou  Judge  of  the  earthy  and  rezvard  the 
proud  after  their  deserving  [Psaim  xciv.  2  (Prayer-BooK 
Version)].  Such  the  gist  of  the  complaint,  How 
long  shall  the  wicked^  how  lojtg  shall  the  wicked 
triumph?  [Psaim xciv. 3].  Such  the  essence  of  the 
question,  Where  is  the  God  of  judgment  f  CMai.  ii.  i7j. 
Such  the  substance  of  the  exhortation,  Fret 
not  thyself  because  of  evil-doers,  neither  be 
thou  envious  against  the  workers  of  iniquity 
[Ps;iim  xxxvii.  1].  Such  thc  Spirit  of  the  thanksgiv- 
ing. The  righteous  shall  rejoice  when  he  seeth 
the  vengeance ;  he  shall  wash  his  feet  in  the 
blood  of  the  wicked,  so  that  a  man  shall  say, 
Verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous, 
verily  He  is  a  God  that  judgeth  the  earth 
[Psaimiviii.io,  11],  The  third  period  is  the  present,  ^ 
in  which  we  look  for  a  judgment  to  come, 
and  are  persuaded  that  whatever  may  seem 
to  be  imperfect  or  unjust  nov/,  will  be  ex- 
plained and  vindicated,  and  set  right  by  the 
Son  of  man  on  the  throne  of  His  glory.  We 
do  not  therefore  expect  always  to  see  sin  visi- 
bly punished,  and  we  are  expressly  forbidden 
by  our  Lord  Himself  to  pass  hasty  or  severe 
judgments  on  others.     Yet  this  does  not  re- 


1 12  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

peal  God's  law  of  personal  chastisement,  noi 
does  it  forbid  our  asking  Him,  when  His  rod 
visits  us,  "Lord,  wherefore  is  it  come?" 
A  holy  God  hates  sin,  and  He  can  have  no 
truce  with  it,  no  forbearance  toward  it,  no 
halting  of  purpose,  no  slackness  of  hand.  If 
God  did  not  visit  sin  at  all,  men  would  in- 
stantly say,  He  cares  not  for  it.  But  when 
we  see  that  He  hates  it  all,  hates  it  always, 
hates  it  everywhere,  then  His  name  is  consist- 
ent with  His  government,  and  His  character 
with  His  acts ;  and  if  we  really  desire  for  our- 
selves to  be  holy  as  He  is  holy,  though  we 
shall  smart  under  His  rod,  we  shall  not  won- 
der at  it,  nor  resist  it,  for  He  will  be  seen  to 
be  doing  the  very  thing  for  us  that  we  have 
asked  Him  to  do,  and  that  we  can  not  do  for 
ourselves. 

But  He  is  also  righteous.  This  is  their  song 
who  stand  on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the 
harps  of  God,  and  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the 
servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb : 
Great  and  marvelous  are  Thy  zuorks,  Lord  God 
Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  Thy  zv ays,  Thou 
King  of  saints  [Rev.  tv.  3].  Sometimes,  no  doubt 
we  are  tempted  to  think  that  this  is  not  so 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T.  113 

When  the  punishment  seems  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  offense,  or  when  it  is  sorrow  upon 
sorrow  [Phu.  ii.  27],  or  when  it  goes  on  year  by- 
year;  or  when  it  is  final,  in  the  sense  that 
there  is  no  hope  of  ever  escaping  from  it,  we 
hardly  know  how  to  reconcile  it  with  our 
ideas  of  God's  justice ;  the  punishment  is 
greater  than  we  can  bear,  if  it  is  heavier  than 
we  have  deserved. 

How  severe,  for  instance,  was  the  doom  on 
Moses  that  shut  him  out  of  the  Land  of 
Promise,  and  which  included  him  in  the  same 
sentence  with  those  whose  carcasses  fell  in 
the  wilderness,  because  they  thought  scorn  of 
that  pleasant  land,  and  gave  no  credence  to 
God's  word  !  Is  there  a  more  touching  prayer 
in  all  the  Old  Testament  than  that  of  this 
great  prophet  ?  O  Lord  God,  Thou  hast  begun 
to  shoiv  Thy  servant  Thy  greatness,  and  Thy 
mighty  hand — I  pray  thee,  let  me  go  over,  and 
see  the  good  land  that  is  beyond  Jordan,  that 
goodly  mountain,  and  Lebanon.  But  the  Lord 
zuas  wroth  with  me  for  your  sakes,  and  zvould 
not  hear  me  :  and  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Let  it 
suffice  thee ;  speak  no  more  unto  me  of  this 
matter  [Deut.iii.  24-26]. 
8 


114 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


To  glance  at  one  more  instance :  the  faith- 
ful, but  disobedient,  prophet  paid  a  very  ter- 
rible penalty  for  being  the  victim  of  a  wicked 
fraud.  The  same  kind  of  thing,  though  in  a 
different  form,  continually  happens  now.  Im- 
prudence or  impatience  are  sometimes  as 
severely  visited  as  perverseness  or  malice.  A 
mistake  in  youth  creeps  after  us  through  life 
with  the  gloomy  shadow  of  a  crime.  Caesar 
crossed  but  one  Rubicon  :  but  for  us  there 
often  are  countless  Rubicons  in  daily  life  of 
rash  words,  hasty  impulses,  unwise  plans, 
which  are  but  the  work  of  a  moment,  yet  cut 
our  lives  in  two,  and  make  a  wide  gulf  be- 
tween a  happy  past  and  a  clouded  future. 
The  loss  of  a  limb  is  irremediable.  The  death 
of  a  friend  is  irremediable.  We  can  not  live 
our  life  over  again  :  regret  may  prevent  future 
mistakes ;  it  can  not  repair  the  past.  Well, 
the  one  thing  to  do  is  to  fall  back  on  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  to  say  to  ourselves. 
Like  as  a  father pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitietJi  them  that  fear  LLim  [Psaim  ciii.  13].  We  can 
not  be  fair  judges  of  the  equity  of  punish- 
ment without  knowing  accurately  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  sin.     It  was  a  severe  pun 


CHA  STISEMEXT. 


115 


ishment  on  Moses  ;  but  be  it  said  with  all 
dutiful  and  loyal  respect  to  that  grandest  of 
men,  it  was  for  a  great  offense ;  and  had  God 
passed  it  over,  it  never  could  have  been  said 
of  Him,  He  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty 
[Exod.  xxxiT.  7].  As  to  the  disobedient  prophet,  he 
was  deceived,  no  doubt ;  but  that  was  his 
fault,  not  his  excuse.  To  be  deceived  by 
others  may  sometimes  mean  to  deceive  our- 
selves :  and  though  the  punishment  was  final 
in  this  world — though  the  true  prophet  suf- 
fered and  the  false  prophet  escaped — in  the 
next  world  we  may  venture  to  believe  they 
will  change  places ;  and  the  verdict  pro- 
nounced by  the  instinct  of  human  justice  will 
be  ratified  by  the  sentence  of  God. 

Let  us  steadfastly  believe  that  God  is  never 
hard ;  never  afflicts  willingly  [Lam.  ui.  33],  or 
grieves  the  children  of  men ;  never  deals 
with  us  after  our  sins,  or  rewards  us  according 
to  our  iniquities  vp&^^racm.xar  Does  not  our  own 
experience  tell  us  this?  Heavy  as  may  be 
our  trials,  do  not  we  secretly  feel  we  want 
them  all,  and  that  less  would  not  do  ?  Our 
sorrow  is  not  to  atone  for  sin,  only  to  help 
to  deliver  us  from  its  power:  yet  it  must  be 


Il6  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

sufficient  to  effect  this;  and,  therefore,  to 
touch  the  edge  of  the  wound  instead  of  prob- 
ing it,  would  be  but  to  trifle  with  our  disease, 
and  prolong  our  pain. 

For,  once  more,  God  is  faithful^  who  ivill 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are 
able ;  but  will  with  the  temptation  also  make 
a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it 
[icor.x.  13].  When  there  is  sorrow  upon  sorrow 
[Phil.  ii.  27],  there  \^  strength  to  strength  [Psaim  ixxxiv.?:- 
and  those  who  know  most  about  affliction, 
will  be  the  readiest  to  confess  what  lessons  it 
has  taught  them  of  the  tenderness  and  faithful- 
ness of  God.  He  knows  exactly  how  far  it  is 
safe  to  go  with  us :  and  He  watches  over  us 
in  the  furnace,  waiting  for  the  moment  when 
He  may  bring  us  out.  Our  powers  are  never 
really  overtasked,  for  they  that  wait  on  the 
Lord  shall  renew  their  strength  [rsaiah  xi.  31].  Our 
patience  need  never  be  exhausted,  if  we  re- 
member in  whose  hand  our  times  are.  Our 
resources  are  never  dried  up,  for  the  fullness 
of  God  is  at  our  disposal.  Our  faith  can  not 
fail  while  we  look  up  to  Christ.  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee  [2  cor.  xii.  9] ;  this  is  a  promise 
for  -js,  as  well  as  for  the  apostle.     And  if  we 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T. 


117 


ask,  as  many  ask  with  Job  every  day,  What  is 
my  strength  y  that  I  should  hope?  and  what  is 
mine  end,  that  I  should  prolong  my  life  ?  [jobvi.  nj, 
let  us  lay  hold  of  the  blessed  assurance,  not 
only  to  Israel  after  the  flesh,  but  to  Israel 
after  the  spirit :  /  will  not  contend  forever, 
neither  will  I  be  always  wroth  :  lest  the  spirit 
should  fail  before  me,  and  the  souls  which  I 
have  made  [isa.  ivii.  is]. 


N    conclusion,   to    repeat   a 
, ,  1  ^       I'll  1        J      Chastisement 

thought,  which  has  already  individual, 

been  dwelt  upon  in  former  chap- 
ters :  the  individuality  of  Divine  chastise- 
ments, or  the  fitness  of  each  man's  sorrow  for 
his  own  condition,  is  strikingly  indicated  in 
the  words,  He  restoreth  ME,  He  leadeth  ME. 
Life  would  be  intolerable,  could  we  not 
trace  in  it  the  plan  of  a  Divine  Providence 
watching  over  us  and  guiding  us ;  sorrow 
would  be  overwhelming,  had  we  to  look  on 
it  as  a  chance  arrow  shot  against  us  at  a 
venture,  and  not  aimed  by  the  hand  of  one 
whom  we  can  trust  and  love.  When  God 
sends  chastisement,  He  knows  to  whom  He 
Bends  it,  and  why  He  sends  it,  and  what  He 


Il8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

sends.     His  treatment  of  us  is  infinitely  wise 
in  its  precise  adaptation  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  is  applied,  to  the  result  which 
it  is  intended  to  accomplish,  and  to  the  char- 
acter   which   it   is   sent   to   sanctify.      Some 
kinds  of  affliction,  those,    for   instance,  that 
are  tedious  and  lasting,  are  in  the  nature  of 
a  systematic  discipline  and  improvement,  per- 
manently to  strengthen  faith   and   hope,  and 
love  in  us.     Others,  such  as  sharp  and  sudden 
trials,   are   tests  sent   to  try  what   is   in   our 
heart,  whether  we  serve  God  for  Himself,  or 
only  for  His  gifts.     If  anything,  so  to  speak, 
is  providential,  affliction  is.     If  in    anything 
whatever  we  are  bound  to  trust  God  with  all 
the  completeness  of  our  judgment,  with  all  the 
strength  of  our  understanding,  with  all  the 
adoration  of  our  heart,  it  is  when  He  is  tak- 
ing us  apart  to  make  us  perfect  through  suf- 
ferine.    Therefore  it  is  that  God  sends  sorrow 
to  one  man,  and  not  to  another;  at  one  time 
in  this  way,  at  another  time  in  that.     The 
sorrow  that  might   cure  us  to-day  might  not 
cure  us  to-morrow  ;  the  sorrow  that  might  be 
good   for  me,   might   not  be   good    for   you. 
Each  man  has  his  own  sorrows,  different  from 


CBA  S  TI SEMEN  T. 


119 


any  one  else's  in  all  the  world,  since  he  him- 
self is  different  trom  any  one  else.  Each  indi- 
vidual believer  is  led  his  own  way  into  the 
wilderness ;  each  has  Jesus  with  him  there. 

But  what  is  the  key  to  that  ^^.^  ^^  ^^^^ 
secret,  which  we  all  find  so  hard,  the  bicssmi;  of 
keeping  the  blessing  of  the  sor-  C^^^'^^'^^^'^'^- 
row,  when  the  sorrow  itself  is  passed  ?  In  one 
sense  it  is  impossible  that  the  freshness  of  our 
first  impressions  should-  never  fade,  or  that  in 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day  the  flower 
should  be  as  bright  and  as  fragrant,  as  when 
it  dropped  with  dew  in  the  first  blush  of 
morning.  But  it  is  not  the  feeling  of  the 
blessing  that  is  so  important,  as  the  blessing 
itself;  not  the  echo  of  the  Saviour's  voice, 
but  the  Saviour  himself  that  we  should  really 
desire  to  retain.  And  our  Lord  will  not  leave 
us,  unless  we  bid  Him.  The  believer's  heart 
is  far  more  precious  to  Him  than  the  mate- 
rial glories  of  a  visible  paradise  with  its  walls 
of  jasper  and  its  gates  of  pearl.  Let  us  be 
sure  that  we  shall  retain  Him  in  proportion 
as  we  cling  to  Him,  and  lay  hold  of  the 
hem  of  His  garment,  and  say,  Abide  with  us 
Luke xxiv.  29J ;  humbly  reminding  Him  of  all   His 


l'20  ^^^'  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

goodness  and  pity  when  His  hand  was  heavy 
on  us,  and  the  dews  of  suffering  moistened 
our  brow,  and  we  had  not  strength  for  words ; 
only  the  soul  turned  toward  Him  as  flowers 
to  the  sun.  Ours  be  the  psalmist's  prayer  : 
O  wJic7i  zvilt  Thou  come  unto  me  ?  I  will  walk 
witJiifi  my  house  with  a  perfect  heart  [Psaim  ci.  2]. 
Ours  be  the  prophet's  complaint :  O  the  hope 
of  Israel,  the  Saviour  thereof  in  the.  time  of 
trouble,  why  shouldest  Thou  be  a  stranger  in 
the  land,  and  as  a  wayfaring  man  that  turneth 
aside  to  tarry  for  a  flight  ?  uer.  xiv.  s].  Then  ours 
shall  be  the  apostle's  thanksgiving :  Most 
gladly  therefore  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  in- 
firmities, that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  me  pcor.  xii.  9]. 

_,.        j.^j  This  once  more  leads  on  to  an- 

Ttmes  of  Chas- 
tisement need     other  thought  of  great   consola- 

not  be  useless  tion,  bearing  on  our  supposed 
times.  ,'  ^     ,  ... 

uselessness  under  certam  visita- 
tions of  God.  For  some  are  disposed  to  say 
that  their  time  of  affliction  is  all  lost  time,  and 
it  bitterly  aggravates  the  chastisement,  already 
severe  enough,  to  feel  that  they  are  but  cum- 
berers  of  the  ground.  When  we  discover 
how  lightly  we  valued  our  former  opportuni- 


CHA  S  TI  SEME  NT.  1 2 1 

ties,  we  wish  for  them  back ;  yet  wishing  does 
not  bring  them  back;  we  long,  but  long  in 
vain,  once  more  to  be  permitted  to  give  a  cup 
of  cold  water  to  one  for  whom  Christ  died. 
Well,  it  is  something  to  be  humbled  for  past 
remissness,  and  to  discover  mercy  which  we 
have  not  valued  as  it  deserved.  Yet  inac- 
tion need  not  be  uselessness.  The  land  that 
lies  fallow  under  the  winter  frost  is  mellowing 
for  the  spring  sowing.  It  is  very  possible  to 
be  useless  amid  a  great  deal  of  fussy  and 
showy  activity,  and  to  be  seeking  the  praise 
of  men,  not  of  God.  We  can  not  be  useless 
while  we  are  doing  and  suffering  God's  will, 
whatever  it  may  be  found  to  be.  And  we  can 
always  do  that.  If  we  are  bringing  forth  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  we  are  not  useless.  And 
we  can  always  do  that.  If  we  are  increas- 
ing in  the  knowledge  of  God's  will  in  all 
wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding,  we  are 
not  useless.  And  we  can  always  do  that. 
While  we  pray  we  can  not  be  useless.  And 
we  can  always  do  that.  God  will  always  find 
us  a  work  to  do,  a  niche  to  fill,  a  place  to 
serve,  nay,  even  a  soul  to  save,  when  it  is  His 
^ill,  and  not  ours,  that  we  desire  to  do ;  and 


122  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

if  it  should  please  Him  that  we  should  sit 
still  for  the  rest  of  our  lives,  doing  nothing 
else  but  waiting  on  Him,  and  waiting  for  Him, 
why  should  we  complain  ?  Here  is  the  patience 
of  the  saints  [Rev.  xiv.  12]. 

So,  when  sorrow  comes  to  you,  or  to  those 
you  love,  do  not  shrink  from  it,  as  from  some 
cruel  torturer,  but  welcome  in  it  an  angel  to 
bring  you  near  to  God.  Do  not  fear,  do  not 
fear.  This  light  afflictioji,  which  is  but  for  a 
moinent,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory  [2  cor.  iv.  i?].  Our  God 
is  enough  for  every  one  of  us,  and  when  we 
pass  behind  the  cloud,  it  is  that  we  may  see 
His  face  and  our  joy  be  full.  We  must  not 
indeed  say,  Env}^  those  in  sorrow.  That 
would  be  aiming  far  too  high  for  human  nat- 
ure. But  we  may  say,  Bless  God  for  His  gra- 
cious purpose  toward  them ;  and  let  your 
prayer  for  them  rather  be,  that  they  may  be 
able  to  receive  and  retain  all  He  offers  them, 
than  that  they  may  be  too  soon  delivered  from 
their  pain.  It  is  natural  to  pity  them,  yet  if 
we  could  look  into  the  invisible  world,  we 
should  see  that  they  who  are  pitied  by  the 
angels,  and  whom,  therefore,  we  ought  to  pity, 


CHA  S  TI SEMEN  T. 


123 


are  not  those  whom  Christ  is  taking  apart  into 
the  wilderness  to  rest  awhile,  but  those  who 
are  left  alone  to  be  filled  with  their  own  de- 
vices, and  whom  an  unbroken  prosperity  is 
hardening  against  God. 

Soon,  very  soon,  the  Good  Shepherd  will 
no  longer  be  restoring  our  souls,  or  leading  us 
painfully  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  ;  for 
sin  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  we  shall  be 
walking  together  on  the  everlasting  hills.  Yet, 
if  our  glory  depends  on  our  service,  it  also 
depends  on  our  sanctity.  In  heaven  we  shall 
still  serve  Him  ;  but  only  while  on  earth  can 
we  drink  the  cup  that  our  Master  drank  of,  or 
be  baptized  with  the  baptism  wherewith  He 
was  baptized. 


IV. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  OF 
DEATH. 


YEA,  THOUGH  I  WALK  THROUGH  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  OP 
DEATH,  I  WILL  FEAR  NO  EVIL  :  FOR  THOU  ART  WITH  ME  *  THY 
ROD  AND  THY  STAFF  THEY  COMFORT  ME." 


^''Connditre  la  niort  sans  la  craindre,  c'est  le  plus 
haul  ddgr^ de  perfection  oil  P esprit  huinain  soit 
capable  de  parvenir  :  c'est  le  plus  haut  point  de 
felicity  oit  il  puisse  arriver  dans  cette  valine  de 
ittiskre." — Saurin. 

O  ascertain  precisely  what    ,,.,  ^    . 

^  -^  What    ts  not 

we  are  to  understand  by  meant  by   the 

the  "  Presence  of  Christ,"  Pj-^^^^^ce  of 

Christ. 
we  must  separate  it  from  a  truth, 

with  which  it  may  easily  be  confounded,  and 
distinguish  it  from  the  doctrine,  in  which  it  is 
virtually  contained. 

It  is  not,  for  instance,  a  mere  physical  near- 
ness, identical  with  the  truth  of  the  Divine 
Omnipresence,  which,  expressed  more  ac- 
curately, is  rather  the  presence  of  all  things 
before  God,  than  God  present   to  all  things. 

(124) 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DBA  TH. 


125 


For  that  truth  may  be  as  much  a  thought  of 
terror  as  of  consolation,  and  equally  affects 
inanimate  with  animate  things,  irrational 
with  rational,  bad  men  with  good  men,  hell 
with  heaven.  And  though  God  can  not 
dwell  in  our  hearts  without  blessing  us  with 
His  presence,  though  to  have  Him  in  us  must 
be  to  have  Him  with  us,  and  so  all  that  we 
actually  need  for  our  provision  and  safety  is 
infallibly  insured  for  those  who  trust  in  Him  ; 
the  sun  behind  the  clouds  can  never  be  the 
same  quickening  and  fertilizing  power  on 
the  chilled  and  wet  earth,  as  when  shining 
out  in  its  strength.  Therefore  we  ask  for  the 
light  of  God's  countenance  to  give  us  peace  ; 
remembering  that  even  Jesus,  when  His 
Father  hid  Himself,  found  it  heavier  than  He 
could  bear,  for  to  be  forsaken  was  harder  than 
to  die. 

The  Divine  Presence  symbolized  under  the 
rod  and  staff  of  the  Good  Shepherd  means 
the  sense  of  Christ's  sympathy,  and  the  assur- 
ance of  Christ's  aid. 

Sympathy,  let  us  observe,  is 
more  than  love,  bemg  love  per-  of  sympathy. 
fected  by  experience.     It  is  im- 


126  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

possible  to  sympathize  with  what  we  do  not 
fully  understand,  and  some  things  can  be  un- 
derstood only  by  the  actual  personal  endur- 
ance of  them.  We  must  ourselves  have  been 
ill,  quite  to  sympathize  with  the  sick  ;  the  rich 
may  be  kind  to  the  poor,  but  to  know  what  it 
is  to  want  daily  bread,  our  own  shelf  must  have 
been  empty.  When  we  seek  comfort,  do  not  we 
naturally  ^o  to  those  whose  actual  wounds 
have  shed  the  same  kind  of  blood  as  ours? 
Our  little  children  love  us,  and  when  death 
has  robbed  us  of  the  best  treasure  of  our 
home,  it  comforts  us  that  we  still  have  them 
to  love  ;  we  feel  as  we  take  them  on  our  knee, 
we  are  not  bankrupts  yet.  But  a  great  gulf 
separates  us  from  them  ;  they  are  sorry  for  us, 
they  try  to  understand  our  sadness,  they  look 
into  our  face,  and  kiss  us  more  tenderly  than 
ever  ;  they  mean  to  be  good,  if  only  to  make 
us  happy.  Yet  they  can  not  understand  what 
we  have  lost,  and  we  do  not  attempt  to  ex- 
plain it ;  neither  do  we  complain  that  their  tears 
are  too  soon  dried,  or  that  in  a  few  days  they 
are  as  merry  as  ever.  The  loud  laughter  ring- 
ing down  the  nursery  stairs,  the  wooden  horse 
running  swiftly  over  the  floor,  somehow,  after 


THE  bHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH. 


127 


the  first  jar,  do  not  really  disturb  us.  We  are 
not  so  unjust  as  to  think  them  unfeeling  be- 
cause they  are  not  like  ourselves :  still,  the 
end  of  it  is,  we  mourn  alone. 

Now  Christ's  sympathy  is  the 
r  1 1         r     1  •  r  i       1  The  sympathy 

fellow  leehng  oi  one  who,  lov-  of  Christ 

fng  us  to  begin  with,  and  so  dis- 
posed to  pity  us,  understands  what  we  suffer, 
for  He  has  suffered  it  Himself,  nay,  suffers  it 
all  with  us,  for  His  life  and  our  life  are  one. 
/  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  branches  [Johnxv.5]. 
When  the  vine  is  pruned,  and  the  sap  runs 
out,  a  living  pain  shudders  through  the  entire 
tree.  But  zvho  shall  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  CJirist  ?  [Rom.  viii.  35].  Nothing,  indeed,  outside 
of  us  can  do  it.  Satan  has  no  power  over  us 
but  what  we  are  pleased  to  give  him.  Why 
should  Christ  rob  Himself  of  His  purchased 
possession?  How  can  He  change,  or  tire,  or 
forget  us,  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  and  to^ 
day,  and  forever  ?  [Heb.xiii,  8].  If  we  lose  this 
blessed  sympathy,  it  is  because  we  ourselves 
throw  it  away.  No  hand  can  cut  us  off  from 
Christ  but  our  own. 

Yet  He  is  God  as  well  as  man,  and  the  com- 
fort of  His  presence  consists  mainly  in  this, 


128  ^HE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

that  He  is  able  as  well  as  willing  to  save. 
How  often  have  we  to  confess,  sadly,  if  not 
bitterly,  the  helplessness  of  mere  sympathy. 
It  is  useless  to  inquire,  when  the  end  is  just 
the  same,  which  is  the  more  mortifying,  will 
without  power,  or  power  without  will.  But 
our  Master  Christ  has  both.  St.  Paul  had 
learned  not  only  his  Lord's  tenderness,  but 
also  His  strength.  Let  us  learn  with  the 
apostle  that  the  presence  of  Christ  means  the 
sympathy  of  a  kind  friend,  and  the  help  of  a 
strong  one  ;  the  right  arm  and  right  hand  of 
one  who,  rejoicing  with  us  when  we  rejoice, 
and  weeping  with  us  when  we  weep,  can  cover 
our  head  in  the  day  of  battle.  When  pain  is 
sharp,  when  illness  is  tedious,  when  hopes  are 
disappointed,  when  temptation  is  strong,  then 
let  our  question  be.  Is  anything  too  hard  for 
the  Lord?  [Gen.  xviii.  h].  Then  let  our  consolation 
be,  In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily  ccoi.  ii.  9]. 

For  though  He  is  not  now  on 

./ciXrri-  earth  to  tell  us,  face  to  face,  of 

mimicated  His  love,  He  comes  to  us,  He 

%Trft^^^'        speaks    with    us,   through    His 

Spirit.     The  love  of  God  is  shed 


THE  SHALfO  Pi"  OF  DEA  TH.  129 

abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
is  give }i  unto  us  [Rom.  v.  5].  It  is  the  Spirit's  work 
to  glorify  Jesus.  He  shall  receive  of  mine ,  and 
show  it  unto  you  [joim  xvi.  14].  It  is  our  privilege 
to  receive  the  Spirit,  and  we  are  bidden  to  be 
filled  [Eph.v.  18]  with  Him;  and  who  shall  say, 
what  light  and  joy,  what  liberty  and  holiness, 
what  power  and  usefulness  might  be  ours,  if 
we  would  but  believe.  Yet  this  too  often  is 
just  what  we  will  not  do.  Christ's  sympathy 
seems  much  less  real,  and  much  farther  off 
than  man's ;  and  Christ's  power,  which  is  pos- 
sible enough  when  we  read  of  it  in  an  in- 
spired book,  seems  impossible  when  we  try  to 
apply  it  to  our  present  difficulties ;  and  our 
hearts  are  so  full  of  earthly  cares  and  earthly 
possessions,  that  once  more  it  is  true,  there  is 
no  room  for  Hiin  in  the  inn  [Lukeii.?].  Oh,  our 
inconsistency  and  insincerity !  Oh,  the  delib- 
erateness  with  which  we  deceive  ourselves. 
Oh,  the  resoluteness  with  which  we  set  our- 
selves to  the  utterly  impossible  task  of  fol- 
lowing Christ,  without  taking  up  the  cross ! 
If  we  could  but  make  up  our  mind  to  decide 
on  one  or  the  other,  and  to  be  honest  about 
it ;  either  to  choose  Christ  and  to  be  alto- 
9 


I30 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


getlier  Christians,  or  to  choose  Mammon,  and 
to  be  altogether  for  this  world,  there  would 
be  gain  each  way,  and  no  one  would  be  dis- 
appointed or  deceived.  But  now  Christ  loses, 
the  Church  loses,  the  world  loses ;  and,  as  to 
ourselves,  even  if  at  last  we  are  saved,  as 
through  the  fire,  what  a  loss  of  peace  now, 
and  of  glory  to  come ! 

Christ's  presence  is  always  blessed,  for  the 
still  moments  and  for  the  noisy  moments, 
when  we  are  at  work  and  when  we  are  at  rest, 
when  we  mourn  and  when  we  sing.  Is  there 
ever  any  moment,  when  we  can  afford  to  lose 
Him,  or  when  He  can  be  an  intrusive  guest? 

special  times  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^1"^^^  ^^^^"  ^^'^ 
whe?t  we  7teed  s>^^Q\.2}Xy  need  Him,  and  when, 
His  presence,  therefore,  He  specially  offers 
Himself  How  much  we  read  in  the  Bible 
about  fear,  and  how  continually  we  are 
warned  against  it !  For  though  fear,  like 
anger,  is  an  original  element  of  our  nature, 
and  the  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom 
rpsuim  cxi.  10],  there  is  much  fear  that  dishonors 
God  and  debases  and  enfeebles  men 

The  greatest  of  the  saints  have  had  their 
moments  of  fear.      Abram   feared,  when   he 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH. 


131 


went  down  into  Egypt ;  Moses,  when  God 
sent  him  to  Pharaoh ;  EHjah,  when  he  fled 
from  Jezebel.  One  of  the  grandest  passages 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  the  Divine  expostu- 
lation with  Israel :  /,  even  /,  am  He  that  com- 
fort eth  you :  who  art  thou,  that  thou  shotildest 
be  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die,  a?id  of  the 
Son  of  man  which  shall  be  made  as  grass  ;  and 
forget  test  the  Lord  thy  Maker?  [isa.  ii.  12,13].  One 
of  the  most  blessed  promises  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament is  in  the  book  of  the  same  prophet : 
Fear  not :  for  I  have  redeemed  thee,  I  have 
called  thee  by  thy  najne  ;  thou  art  niirte.  When 
thou  passest  through  the  zvaters,  I  will  be  zuith 
thee ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not 
overflow  thee :  when  thou  walkest  through  the 
fire,  thou  shall  not  be  burjied ;  neithe?  shall  the 
flame  kindle  upon  thee  cisa.  xiiii.  i,  2]. 


ERHAPS  the  most  com- 
mon, and  human,  and  re-  L'ear  of  death 

reasonable, 
sonable  of  all  kinds  of  fear  is  the 

fear  of  death.  Yet  even  here,  as  the  psalmist 
tells  us,  the  Divine  presence  is  sufficient :  Yea^ 
though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  Thou  art  with 


J 32  Tf^E  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST 

me ;   Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me 

iPsalm  xxiii.  4]- 

The  expression,  "  shadow  of  death,"  occurs 
eleven  times  in  Scripture,  viz.,  five  times  in 
Job,  four  times  in  the  Psalms,  once  in  Jere- 
miah, once  in  Amos  ;  and  we  are  yet  more 
familiar  with  the  image  through  its  introduc- 
tion into  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  where 
Christian,  after  his  victory  over  Apollyon, 
and  long  before  he  reaches  the  Celestial  City, 
passes  through  the  valley  with  terrible  con- 
flict, and  is  joined  by  Faithful  soon  after  he 
comes  out. 

I  have  called  the  fear  of  death 
Why  reason.  reasonable,  and  it  is  surely  fair 
to  say  so,  if  love  of  life  is  a  di- 
vinely ordered  law  for  us,  and  if  but  for  that 
fear  men  would  rush  much  oftener  than  they 
do  into  its  mysterious  darkness  with  all  their 
sins  on  their  head.  The  great  bulk  of  men, 
indeed,  whom  youth  and  vigor  seem  to  sep- 
arate from  it  by  an  almost  infinite  interval, 
seldom  think  of  it,  will  not  look  at  it  ;  and 
what  we  steadily  ignore  can  hardly  cause  us 
acute  alarm.  Besides,  it  is  hard  really  to  face 
it  until  it  faces  us.     Human  nature  will  not 


THE  SNA  DO  IV  OF  DEA  TFT.  1 3  3 

needlessly,  can  not  easily,  by  mere  force  ot 
fancy,  or  in  the  gratuitous  indulgence  of  a 
morbid  whim,  lay  itself  down  with  Charles  V. 
within  the  narrow  walls  of  a  tomb,  to  drama- 
tize its  dissolution.  Only,  when  sentence  of 
death  is  pronounced,  and  we  feel  that  there 
is  no  postponing  it,  do  we  rouse  ourselves  in 
earnest  to  think  what  it  must  reallv  be.  And 
then,  let  us  confess,  it  is  a  dark  valley  that 
opens  out  before  us,  and  many  ghastly 
shadows  are  flitting  through  it.  It  is  a  real 
enemy,  and  it  must  be  conquered.  For  most 
men  it  is  something  more  than  the  mere  flut- 
tering of  the  wing  of  the  impatient  spirit,  it  is 
somewhat  harder  than  the  unconscious  drop- 
ping of  the  garment  of  our  mortality.  We 
must  not  overrate  it,  but  we  dare  not  despise 
it ;  and  if  in  a  few  rare  natures  there  be  the 
sublime  spectacle  of  triumph  in  death  ;  if 
some,  like  Hopeful,  through  the  exceeding 
vividness  of  their  faith,  and  the  ardor  of  their 
hope,  and  the  intenseness  of  their  love,  long 
for  it,  and  welcome  it,  it  will  be  safer  for  most 
of  us  to  wait  quietly  till  it  comes,  knowing 
who  bids  it  come,  neither  shrinking  from  it 


/ 


134 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


in  unmanly  terror,  nor  rushing  to  meet  it  in 
hysterical  joy. 

"  When  the  shore  is  won  at  last, 
Who  will  count  the  billows  past  ?  "  * 

Thou  art  with  me :  this  is  all  we  care  for ;  it  is  the 
presence  of  Christ  that  robs  death  of  its  sting. 
Here,  however,  let  it  be  ob- 
^hadoJlf death,  served  that  the  valley  of  the 
sometimes  dis-  shadow  of  death  is  sometimes 
^jP^^Jf^om death  ^^-^^  ^  distinct  thing  from  death 

itself.  We  may  pass  through  it, 
as  Hezekiah  passed  through  it,  and  contend 
with  all  its  terrors,  and  yet  live  for  years 
afterward  ;  though,  indeed,  the  bitterness  of 
death  will  be  forever  passed,  and  the  shock 
of  his  conflict  broken.  It  is  also  possible  to 
die  without  passing  through  it  at  all ;  as  when 
men  die  suddenly,  or  with  so  short  a  transi- 
tion from  time  into  eternity  as  never  really  to 
have  faced  what  was  at  hand. 

The  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
Explanation  of  ^^^^^  -^  ^  chapter  by  itself  in 

human   experience.      Religious 
*  Keble. 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH. 


135 


men  pass  through  it,  as  well  as  irreligious, 
and  often  it  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
that  all-absorbing  sense  of  sin  and  unworthi- 
ness,  which  has  an  object  of  its  own  in  the 
Divine  purposes,  and  which  no  one  need  won- 
der to  feel,  when  approaching  the  Throne  of 
God.  It  is,  perhaps,  commoner  in  middle 
age  than  in  childhood,  which  can  not  appre- 
ciate the  full  blessedness  of  life,  or  than  in  old 
age,  weary  with  the  toil  of  it ;  and  is  most 
frequently  seen  in  men  who  combine  a  strong 
vitality  with  peculiar  powers  of  enjoyment. 
This,  moreover,  is  certain,  that  those  who  have 
not  gone  through  it,  can  not  know  it  by  hear- 
say ;  those  who  have,  will  never  forget,  if 
they  live  fifty  years  afterward,  the  sadness 
and  solitariness  of  its  gloom. 

But  a  brief  illustration  may 

,     1       ,  1    .  •  Illustration  of 

help    to   explam    my   meanmg.  ^^  -^ 

Travelers,  who  have  crossed 
from  Switzerland  into  France  by  the  old  post 
road  over  the  Jura,  will  remember  their  fare- 
well gaze  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  the 
green  plain,  and  the  white  crest  of  Mont 
Blanc  losing  itself  in  the  clouds  ;  will  recall 
also  the  grand  prospect  of  Burgundy  with  its 


136  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

fertile  meadows  and  golden  vineyards  sud- 
denly opening  out  at  their  feet.  But  both 
these  views  are  not  to  be  enjoyed  at  the  same 
moment.  Between  the  turn  of  the  road,  that 
shuts  out  the  panorama  of  Switzerland,  and 
the  opening  in  the  pass,  which  gives  us  our 
first  glimpse  of  France,  there  is  a  tedious  and 
gloomy  interval  among  sterile  rocks,  and 
frowning  precipices,  hills  that  shut  out  the 
sun,  and  barrenness  that  forbids  verdure. 

Now,  this  may  be  offered  as  a  most  imper- 
fect representation  of  that  sad  and  dark  period 
in  the  history  of  some  men,  when  life  seems 
all  behind  us,  with  its  precious  joys  and  its 
noble  duties,  and  when  the  glory,  that  is  com- 
ing, has  not  yet  burst  upon  our  view.  To  tell 
us,  at  such  a  moment,  that  our  depression  is 
physical,  may  explain  it,  but  does  not  remove 
it.  To  share  it  with  those  whom  we  love  best 
in  all  the  world,  would  be  selfishly  casting  on 
them  a  burden  they  could  not  carry ;  yet, 
keeping  it  to  ourselves,  only  throws  it  further 
in.  In  such  a  condition  of  mind  and  body, 
everything  we  see,  or  hear,  or  do,  or  read, 
aggravates  the  symptoms  of  the  disease. 
Are  the  journals  full  of  some  great  event  to 


THE  SHADO  VV  OF  DEA  TH.  i  3^^ 

come  off  presently?  The  first  thought  is,  "  I 
shall  never  live  to  see  it."  Children  playing 
men  going  to  and  fro  to  their  tasks,  the  chang- 
ing aspects  of  nature,  the  sight  of  a  passing 
friend  at  whose  side  in  former  days  we  de- 
lighted to  labor,  the  stir  of  the  tide  of  life  all 
round  us.  the  infant  on  our  knee,  the  wife  or 
husband  at  our  side,  the  possessions  of  our 
home,  the  companions  of  our  youth  :  all  these 
are  forever  in  some  subtle  and  keen  way  stir- 
ring up  the  associations  of  the  grave,  and  tell- 
ing us  with  a  whisper,  which  we  never  fail  to 
catch  as  from  one  standing  at  our  shoulder, 
**  Thou  must  leave  all  these,  and  come  away 
with  me." 

No  doubt  this  varies  according  to  individ- 
ual temperament ;  much  of  it,  too,  is  morbid, 
irrational,  and  almost  wrong.  Yet  God  has 
His  own  purpose  to  fulfill  out  of  it ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  a  discipline  so  mysterious, 
and  perhaps  in  some  of  its  features  so  com- 
paratively rare,  has  blessed  lessons  to  teach 
those  who  survive  it  ;  lessons,  not  so  much 
how  to  die,  but  how  to  live,  with  a  more  ten- 
der sympathy,  a  more  living  zeal,  a  more  pro- 
found humility,  and  a  more  ardent  gratitude 


138  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

Such  is  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
Now  let  us  see  what  death  is  itself. 


EATH  means  loss,  solitude, 

1       -    -1     4--  /^     i.    •    T       What  death 

and  retribution.     Certainly  itself  is 

it  is  loss,  loss  of  all  we  know,  and 
possess,  and  enjoy,  and  love.  It  is  loss  of  the 
blue  sky,  and  the  sweet  flowers,  and  the  roll- 
ing sea,  and  the  purple  hills ;  it  is  loss  of 
home  with  its  living  treasures,  of  life  with  its 
stirring  activities,  of  science  with  its  secrets 
and  art  with  its  skill  ;  it  is  loss  of  the  joy  of 
travel,  of  the  rapture  of  music,  of  the  society 
of  books ;  it  is  loss  of  the  fireside  of  winter, 
of  the  sweet  freshness  of  the  summer  morn- 
ing, of  the  ripeness  of  autumn,  of  the  green- 
ness of  spring.  And  then  (unless  the  hurry- 
ing away  be  more  premature  still)  just  when 
the  enjoyment  of  these  things  is  deepening, 
and  our  possessions  are  accumulating,  as  the 
dreams  of  youth  become  the  solid  occupa- 
tions of  manhood,  as  the  heat  and  burden  of 
the  day  give  place  in  their  turn  to  the  repose 
and  memories  of  age  ;  when  the  tide  of  life  is 
at  its  full,  when  the  pinnacle  is  reached,  the 
prize   won,   the   fortune   made,   the   children 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DBA  TH. 


139 


reared ;  when  our  mistakes  are  forgotten  and 
our  errors  condoned,  when  neighbors  esteem 
us,  and  strangers  respect  us ;  when  we  have 
learned  (after  innumerable  failures)  in  some 
slight  degree  how  to  conquer  self,  how  to  use 
money,  how  to  do  good  without  doing  harm, 
how  to  choose  the  right  way  without  first 
going  the  wrong ;  then,  at  the  very  moment 
when  we  are  most  capable  of  making  others 
happy  by  our  kindness,  and  good  by  our  ex- 
ample, and  wise  by  our  experience,  the  enemy 
who  has  been  waiting  for  us  ever  since  we 
were  born,  and  who  was  content  to  wait, 
knowing  that  we  could  not  escape  him,  comes 
to  fetch  us  away  ;  and  we  must  go.  Behold^ 
Thou  hast  made  my  days  as  an  hand-breadth  ; 
and  m,ine  age  is  as  7iothing  before  Thee  :  verily 
every  man  at  his  best  state  is  altogether  vanity 

[Psalm  xxxix.  5]. 

Death    is    also   solitude.     *'  Je 

,  , , "       /~\r  T 1   Death  is  soli' 

mourrai    seul.  ''^      Ui    course    ail  ^^^^^^^ 

sorrow   is   solitary.     For    though 

the  outward  facts  and  features  of  our  sorrow 

are  in  some  measure  identical  with  those  of 

*  Pascal. 


140 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


other  men,  and  produce  effects  which  are 
common  to  the  race,  one  man's  moral  nature 
is  so  different  from  another  man's,  and  the 
shafts  which  pierce  us  are  so  variously  aimed, 
so  differently  weighted,  that  each  of  us,  be- 
sides what  he  endures  in  common  with  his 
fellows,  has  his  own  pain,  which  no  one  else 
can  suffer  quite  in  the  same  way. 

But  in  death  there  is  a  solitude,  which 
exists  in  no  other  kind  of  sorrow,  for  we  only 
die  once ;  and  not  one  of  the  friends  who 
stand  by  watching  us,  can  know  from  per- 
sonal experience  what  dying  means.  Possi- 
bly they  have  been  very  near  it.  They  may 
have  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  dark  river,  and 
its  cold  waves  may  have  washed  over  their 
feet  ;  they  may  have  taken  their  last  farewells, 
and  set  their  house  in  order,  and  looked  right 
into  the  eternal  world.  But  they  did  not  die, 
and  to  expect  death  is  not  the  same  thing 
as  to  endure  it.  For  the  first  time,  perhaps, 
in  all  our  lives,  we  are  starting  on  a  journey 
which  we  must  travel  alone ;  and  those  who 
most  wish  to  be  with  us,  and  whom  we,  too, 
most  wish  for,  must  stay  behind,  while  we  go 
on.     They  can  bless  us,  they  can  tell  us  of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 


141 


their  sweet  and  passionate  and  undying  love ; 
they  can  pray,  and  the  last  sound  we  hear  is 
the  name  of  Him,  who  is  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life ;  but  the  end  of  it  is,  that  we 
go,  and  they  stay,  and  never  is  human  love 
felt  to  be  more  utterly  impotent  than  when  it 
watches  an  ebbing  life. 

And   death  means   retribution. 

7-        /-    7      r    77    z    •  r   And  retribu- 

For    God  shall  bring  every  work  ^y^^_ 

into  judgment,  whether  it  be  good, 
or  whether  it  be  evil  [Eccies.  xii.  h].  It  is  quite  true 
that  conscience  does  not  always  wake  up  be- 
fore death,  and  Lord  Bacon  has  observed  that 
there  is  not  a  single  quality  in  our  moral 
nature,  which  has  not  at  some  time  or  other 
mastered  the  fear  to  die.  But  it  is  also  true, 
that  in  a  great  multitude  of  instances  con- 
science at  such  times  does  make  cowards  of 
us  ;  and  when  it  is  too  late  to  do  what  we  ought 
to  have  done,  and  to  repent  of  what  we  ought 
not  to  have  done,  prayer  is  but  the  spasm  of  a 
panic — we  fear  hell,  not  God.  And  yet,  not 
only  to  the  unforgiven  and  impenitent  soul, 
drifting  helplessly  on  toward  its  final  doom, 
is  the  thought  of  death  a  thing  of  sadness ; 
it  is  often  for  a  time  both  a  humiliation  and  a 


142 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRn  T. 


bitterness  to  the  soul,  which  long  before  had 
cast  its  sins  on  Christ,  and  found  rest  and  peace 
through  His  blood.  Life  come  to  an  end,  and 
so  little  done  in  it !  Sin  still  so  strong,  the 
world  still  so  powerful,  self  still  so  dominant, 
prayer  still  so  hard  !  We  recall  past  oppor- 
tunities, and  feel  how  sinfully  we  have  neglect- 
ed them;  this  soul  and  that  soul  have  come  in 
our  way,  and  we  did  not  even  try  to  do  them 
good.  How  much  money  we  have  wasted  on 
selfish  vanity ;  how  little  we  have  denied  our- 
selves for  the  sake  of  Christ  or  His  kingdom  ! 
Talking,  listening,  planning,  beginning  !  Of 
that  indeed  there  has  been  an  abundance  ;  but 
what  will  there  be  to  show  Christ,  when  He 
returns,  of  actual  finished  work,  that  will 
stand  the  fire? 

ET  even   in  death  this  is  q-j,^  x^...^^. 

1  he  presence 

the  victory  that  overcometh  of  Christ  in 
the  world,  even  our  faith,  [Johuv.4].  d^'^th. 
Thou  art  with  tne,  said  David,  and  we  have 
yet  the  more  sure  word  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  par^ 
takers  of  fl.es Ji  and  blood,  He  also  Himself  like- 
wise took  part  of  the  same  ;  that  through  death 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DBA  TH. 


143 


He  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  zuere  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage  [Heb.  ii.  14, 15]. 

For  if  death  is  loss,  Christ  can  make  up  for 
it  ten  thousandfold.  Is  our  earthly  life  end- 
ed ?  He  gives  us  a  long  life,  even  for  ever 
and  ever.  Does  death  sever  us  from  those 
we  love  on  earth  •*  Christ  unites  us  to  those 
we  love  in  heaven.  He  takes  us  from  sin  to 
sinlessness,  from  perfect  weakness  to  perfect 
strength,  from  restlessness  to  rest,  from  faith 
to  sight,  from  men  to  angels,  from  cold  prayers 
to  the  song  that  ceases  not  day  or  night, 
from  a  world  lying  in  wickedness  to  the  just 
made  perfect  in  sight  of  the  throne.  If  Christ 
can  not,  or  will  not  do  all  this  for  us,  then  He 
is  nothing  to  us,  and  why  do  we  believe  on 
Him  ?      If  He   can,   and   will,   to  die  is  gain 

[Phil.  i.  21]. 

As  to  solitude,  who  knows  so  much  of  soli- 
tude in  life  as  the  Man  of  sorrows  ?  Who  has 
tasted  so  bitterly  of  solitude  in  death  as  He 
who  said  of  Himself  by  the  prophet,  I  have 
trodden  the  wine-press  alone?  cisa.  ixui.s].  His  life 
A^as  eminently  one  long  solitude  in  its  condi- 


1^4  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

tion  and  nature,  in  its  aims  and  purposes,  in 
its  hopes  and  fears.  Not  only  by  His  ene- 
mies, but  by  His  disciples,  not  only  by  His 
disciples,  but  by  His  brethren,  was  He  hin- 
dered, and  disappointed,  and  misunderstood. 
Prayer  was  the  only  real  interruption  of  His 
loneliness ;  and  when  He  died,  there  was  but 
one  apostle  to  stand  by  His  cross. 

The  solitude  of  death  is  filled  with  Jesus ! 
He  knows  it  all,  for  He  has  tasted  it  all.  He 
who  has  died  that  He  might  save  us,  is  with 
us,  because  He  has  saved  us,  to  sustain  us  in 
the  dizziness  of  our  fainting  consciousness, 
and  to  lull  us  with  a  brother's  tenderness  into 
our  sleep  in  Him. 

.    c-     •  For  once  more  we  are  sinners, 

As  Saviour,  ' 

and  to  complete  the  assurance 
of  our  faith.  He  who  is  our  dearest,  kindest, 
strongest  friend  in  the  world  is  also  our  own 
Saviour.  He  has  saved  us  from  the  guilt  of  sin, 
and  from  the  power  of  sin,  and  from  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin.  He  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressiojis,  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities: 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upofi  Him  ; 
and  with  His  stripes  tve  are  healed  [isa.  wi.  51. 
And  so  if  Satan  comes  (as  he  often  does  come) 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 


H5 


at  our  last  hour  to  accuse  us  bitterly  in  the 
court  of  our  own  conscience,  to  cast  doubts 
on  our  pardon,  to  wound  us  with  bitter  recol- 
lections of  past  shortcomings,  and  to  lash  us 
into  the  sin  of  despair,  at  such  moments  let 
the  tempted  soul  instantly  cast  itself  on  Jesus 
to  hide  in  Him,  to  cling  to  Him ;  let  it  bid 
the  tempter  go  to  Him,  our  surety  and  repre- 
sentative, who  long  ago  made  Himself  re- 
sponsible for  us,  when  we  made  our  great 
exchange,  of  laying  on  Him  our  debts,  and 
taking  from  Him  His  righteousness.  The  one 
name  we  utter  shall  be  Jesus,  the  one  answer 
that  we  make  shall  be  Jesus,  the  one  plea  we 
urge  shall  be  Jesus.  We  know  that  we  have 
no  suffering  of  our  own  to  offer  as  an  atone- 
ment ;  but  this  we  also  know — that  Christ  has 
died.  We  know  only  too  well  that  we  have 
no  righteousness  of  our  own  to  prefer,  as  our 
claim  for  heaven  ;  but  if  any  one  asks  how  we 
expect  to  get  there,  we  take  the  question  to 
Him  who  has  called  Himself  the  Waj/,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life  [John  xiv.  6],  and  the  answer 
comes  back.  Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
me  [John  xiv.  1].  Nay,  if  for  a  moment  we  are  in 
darkness,  and  have  no  light  •  if  we  know  not 
lo 


146  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

how  to  deny  the  suggestion  that  our  iniquitieg 
have  separated  between  us  and  our  God ;  and 
that  the  barrier  between  us  is  of  our  own 
making — well,  we  are  saved,  not  through  joy, 
but  through  faith.  If  we  must  perish,  we  will 
perish  clasping  the  cross,  and  clinging  to  the 
Saviour,  quite  sure  that  He  will  not  suffer  the 
very  least  of  His  elect  through  any  pains  of 
death  to  fall  from  Him. 

What  has  been  said  elsewhere  about  the 
passing  through  the  valley  of  death  is  appli- 
cable also  here ;  for  as  a  matter  of  experience, 
there  is  no  rule  to  measure  this  fear  of  death, 
and  no  principle  to  determine  it ;  often  there 
is  none  of  it,  where  it  might  be  most  looked 
for,  sometimes  it  is  very  terrible  where  we 
should  have  thought  it  could  not  come.  In 
some  cases  the  cause  is  entirely  physical, 
either  seated  in  the  constitution,  or  closely 
connected  with  disease ;  and  not  unfrequently 
those  who  in  the  distance  have  most  dreaded 
it,  and  on  the  brightness  of  whose  life  it  has 
ever  projected  a  cold  and  dark  shadow,  when 
the  time  has  come,  much  to  their  own  sur- 
prise, have  found  it  but  falling  asleep. 

It  does,  however  as  we  have  already  hinted, 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH. 


H7 


sometimes  happen,  that  even  with  tried  Chris- 
tians a  thick  mist  envelopes  the  soul  in  its 
declining  hours,  and  though  the  setting  sun, 
before  it  dips  under  the  horizon,  bursts  out 
into  gold  and  flame,  it  has  been  sore  strug- 
gling in  thick  darkness,  and  for  long  it  seemed 

in  vain  to  pray.    Now  there  are    „„     .    ^ 

Why  the  fear 
at  least  two  purposes  which  we  of  death  is  per- 

may    reverently    suppose    God  mitted  in  the 
,      .         ,  1.  1    t  ,    •   1    case  of  believers, 

desires  to  accomplish  by  a  trial 

of  this  kind.  One  is  the  conversion  or  edifi- 
cation of  those  who  stand  by ;  the  other  is 
the  final  perfecting  of  those  who  suffer.  It  is 
a  story  often  told  of  an  eminent  servant  of 
God,  who  had  during  his  lifetime  frequently 
prayed  that  his  happy  death  might  be  blessed 
to  an  ungodly  son,  that  when  his  time  came, 
fear  and  sadness  overwhelmed  him ;  not  so 
much  the  thought  of  Christ's  salvation  pos- 
sessed him,  as  the  fact  of  his  own  sinfulness ; 
the  joy  of  heaven  faded  before  his  sense  of 
unworthiness  of  admission  there.  Yet  God, 
who  was  wiser  than  he,  answered  his  prayer 
in  a  way  that  he  knew  not.  Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
^lone  :  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit 


148  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ijohnxii.  24].  The  careless  son,  who  might  not 
have  been  affected  by  his  father's  happiness, 
was  deeply  moved  by  his  father's  fear.  "  If  a 
man  like  him,  after  a  useful  and  religious  life, 
fears  to  die,  what  is  death  likely  to  be  to  me  ? 
Surely  except  I  repent  I  shall  perish." 

Now,  for  such  an  end,  who  would  not  wel- 
come such  a  sorrow  ? 

There  is  yet  another  reason  why  it  may 
seem  good  to  God  in  the  last  hours  of  our  life 
to  hide  His  face  for  a  little  moment.  We 
may  have  been  leaning  too  much  on  outward 
helps,  or  on  past  experience,  or  on  systems  of 
doctrine,  and  we  have  not  come  quite  close  to 
God  himself  to  cleave  with  all  our  strength 
to  Him.  Therefore  He  must  teach  us,  and 
through  us  others,  that  orthodox  opinions 
can  not  give  us  peace ;  that  sermons,  and  sac- 
raments, and  ordinances  can  not  give  us 
peace ;  that  pious  parents,  faithful  pastors, 
exemplary  friends,  can  not  give  us  peace ;  that 
belonging  to  this  sect,  or  pronouncing  this 
shibboleth,  or  confessing  this  creed,  or  observ- 
ing this  ritual,  can  not  give  us  peace ;  that  the 
esteem  and  commendation  of  our  neighbors 
can  not  give  us  peace ;    in  a  word,  that  all 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH. 


149 


covering  of  our  own  must  be  torn  into  shreds 
that  all  unsound  hopes  must  be  utterly  disap- 
pointed, that  every  shelter  but  the  shelter  of 
the  Saviour's  cross  must  be  swept  away  before 
the  winds  of  heaven,  that  every  other  name 
as  a  way  of  salvation  must  be  as  sounding 
brass,  or  tinkling  cymbal,  save  Jesus,  Son  OF 
God.  Sooner  or  later,  all  this  must  come  to 
us ;  it  is  better  if  it  comes  before,  but  better 
then  than  never ;  and  dark  as  the  declining 
hour  may  be,  severe  as  the  actual  crisis  may 
be,  it  comes  to  an  end  at  last.  The  fight  is 
won,  the  cross  is  clasped,  the  light  comes,  the 
joy  comes,  for  the  Saviour  comes ;  and  He 
who  waited  only  to  be  more  gracious,  who 
hid  Himself  only  to  shine  out  more  glorious 
•at  last,  who  denied,  that  in  the  end  He  might 
be  more  bountiful,  who  seemed  to  frown  only 
because  He  purposed  to  smile,  comes  and 
whispers,  Son^  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy  sins  are 
forgiven  //^^^  [Matt.  ix.  2] ;  and  the  rough  water  is 
passed,  the  ship  glides  into  harbor,  and  the 
rest,  some  on  boards,  and  some  on  broken  pieces 
of  the  ship.  A  nd  so  it  came  to  pass^  that  they 
escaped  all  safe  to  land  [Acts  xxvii.  44]. 


[^O  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

OES  the  thought  cross  any 
one  who  reads  this  paper,  r^ut  thou  die  i 


**  How  shall  I  myself  die  "  ?  In- 
deed, it  is  something  worth  thinking  about. 
Of  course  we  all  wish  to  die  happily.  There 
are  many  Balaams,  if  there  are  few  Pauls. 
Yet  it  is  something  worse  than  folly  to  forget 
that  death  hangs  on  life ;  to  make  death  the 
crisis  and  life  the  trifle  ;  whereas  death  merely 
pronounces  the  verdict,  life  settles  it :  it  is 
solemn  to  die,  only  because  it  is  awful  to  live. 
First,  then,  what  we  all  of  us  need  to  learn 
more  is  how  to  walk  with  God  hour  by  hour 
as  a  man  with  his  friend ;  not  so  much  to  be 
continually  going  in  and  out  of  His  presence 
as  to  be  always  living  in  it,  without  effort 
thinking  of  Him,  without  insincerity  consult- 
ing Him,  without  hesitation  obeying  Him, 
without  embarrassment  speaking  of  Him.  In- 
stead of  endeavoring,  in  the  happy  simplicity 
of  an  almost  unconscious  religion,  to  set 
Christ  before  us  in  all  we  do,  to  have  Him 
with  us  wherever  we  go,  to  make  joy  safe  by 
asking  Him  to  share  it,  to  rob  care  of  its 
carefulness  by  casting  it  as  it  comes  all  on 


THE  SHADO  W  OF  DEA  TH.  j  5  j 

Him,  we  are  too  apt  to  separate  prayer  from 
life,  heaven  from  earth,  holiness  from  happi- 
ness, as  if  human  affections  lowered  Divine 
aspirations,  as  if  we  could  be  more  like  God 
by  being  less  like  men.  Thus  when  we  go  to 
meet  Him  we  have  formally  to  prepare  our- 
selves for  solemn  audience.  It  is  almost  as  if 
we  had  to  unclothe  ourselves  of  the  earthly 
and  to  clothe  ourselves  with  the  heavenly. 
Reverence !  how  can  we  be  reverent  enough  ; 
but  surely  He  prefers  the  simple  trustfulness 
of  kinsfolk  to  the  distant  homage  of  strangers  ; 
and  if  we  made  it  more  our  endeavor  to  bring 
every  thought,  every  word,  every  habit,  every 
employment,  every  recreation,  every  common- 
est act  of  life  into  captivity  to  Christ,  and  so 
into  harmony  and  fellowship  with  Him,  it 
would  not  violently  interrupt  us,  as  it  often 
does,  to  lay  down  the  task  of  the  moment,  to 
hold  intercourse  with  Him. 

HERE  are  three  chief  con-  Conditions  of 
ditions      of      abiding      in  ChHsfs  pres^ 
Christ's     presence  —  obedience,  ^^^'"^'• 
meditation,  and  love.     We   must  obey  Him. 
Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  :  for  they  shall  see 


152 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


God  \>^M.y.%-\.  How  is  it  possible,  I  will  not 
say  to  desire,  but  even  to  endure  the  thought 
of  Christ's  company,  if  we  are  willfully  wan- 
dering from  Him,  or  resisting  Him,  loving 
what  He  hates,  or  doing  what  He  forbids? 
It  is  a  question  how  many  there  are  of  His 
own  true  people,  who,  if  told,  as  one  of  old 
was  told,  TJie  master  is  come,  and  callcth  for 
thee  [John  xi.  28],  would  rise  to  go  to  Him  with  a 
glow  of  happy  surprise. 

Then  there  must  be  more  of  secret,  and  con- 
tinuous, and  real  thinking  of  Him.  If  prayer 
is  the  worship  of  the  heart,  meditation  is 
that  of  the  mind.  Pascal  has  said,  "  Thought 
makes  the  greatness  of  men."  Why  is  there 
so  little  meditation  among  Christians?  such  a 
lack  of  that  quietness,  and  stillness,  and 
thoughtfulness  of  soul  and  spirit,  in  which 
chiefly  the  dews  of  the  Holy  Spirit  fall  on  us, 
and  the  life  of  Christ  grows  ?  There  is  much 
activity  of  hands  and  feet,  much  listening,  far 
too  much  talking.  Yet  where  the  heart  is, 
there  the  treasure  is ;  and  it  is  in  human  nat- 
ure to  think  of  what  we  love. 

For  once  more  we  shall  seek  Christ,  we  shall 
be  with  Him,  we  shall  think  of  Him  just  in 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 


153 


proportion  as  we  love  Him.  We  never  find 
it  irksome  or  dull  to  be  with  those  we  love  ; 
we  always  find  something  to  speak  of  to  them. 
Oh,  to  love  Christ  better!  One  true  throb  of 
love  to  Him  is  worth  more  in  His  sight  than 
the  thrones  of  a  hundred  kings.  If  we  really- 
loved  Christ,  and  trusted  Him,  we  should 
seek  His  presence  to  make  life  happy  as  well 
as  death  easy ;  and  then,  when  the  summons 
does  come,  when  the  most  unutterable,  the 
most  momentous  of  all  convictions  seizes  us — 
that  at  length  our  own  life  is  over,  it  will  be 
but  like  going  out  of  one  room  into  another ; 
we  shall  indeed  be  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us,  if  His  love  has 
been  the  reality  of  our  life. 

//  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and 
after  that  the  judgment  in^^.ix.  21}.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Smith,  in  one  of  his  essays  in  "  Dream- 
thorp,"  has  strikingly  observed  that  death 
gives  a  kind  of  dignity  to  the  very  meanest 
and  shabbiest  of  human  beings.  When  we 
are  dead,  our  enemies  cease  to  envy  us,  our 
friends  love  us  better  than  ever,  some  admire, 
all  pity.  But  why  will  not  we  go  a  litte  fur- 
the-    and,  not    content   with    imagining   our 


154 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


friends  and  neighbors  in  the  sublime  repose 
of  death,  also  think  of  them  in  the  vast  spirit- 
land,  and  standing  under  the  great  White 
Throne?  It  is  in  the  power  of  every  one  of 
us  to  make  some  one  fitter  to  go  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Yet  is  there  any- 
thing so  evident  or  so  inexplicable  as  the 
paralysis  that  affects  so  great  a  multitude  of 
professing  Christians  in  their  intercourse  with 
those  who  plainly  know  not  God  ?  Is  it  that 
we  do  not  believe  that  souls  can  be  lost,  or  is 
it  that  we  do  not  care?  Either  there  is  a 
hell,  or  there  is  not.  If  there  is  not,  then 
how  do  we  know  that  there  is  a  heaven  ?  If 
there  is,  and  if  Jesus  died  to  deliver  us  from 
it,  and  if  there  is  one  iiuman  oemg  on  this 
earth  whom  we  can  influence,  praying  where 
we  can  not  speak,  where  we  can  speak  pray- 
ing too,  let  us  do  what  we  may  with  all 
possible  kindness,  and  wisdom,  and  humility, 
and  earnestness,  to  bid  men  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,  and  to  win  our  Saviour  souls. 
So,  whether  for  ourselves,  or  for  those  we 
love,  we  will  fear  no  evil,  if  only  Christ  be 
ours.  Death  has  yet  to  come ;  and  '  we 
do  not  know  in  what  shape  it  will  come ;  it 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 


155 


may  be  quite  near,  or  it  may  still  be  fai 
away. 

"  Thou  inevitable  day, 

When  a  voice  to  me  shall  say 
Thou  must  rise  and  come  away; 
Art  thou  distant,  art  thou  near, 
Wilt  thou  seem  more  dark  or  clear, 
Day  with  more  of  hope  or  fear?  "  * 

Anyhow,  we  will  not  dwell  too  much  on  it ; 
instead  of  looking  down  into  the  open  grave 
we  will  look  up  for  the  glorious  appearing, 
we  know  of  a  happy  country  across  the  dark 
river;  we  have  heard  of  the  shining  ones 
who  will  lead  us  up  the  hill.  It  is  no  new 
temptation,  but  one  that  is  common  to  man. 
He  who  has  helped  others  through  it  will 
help  us  through  it.  Those  gone  before  us, 
who  have  got  it  over,  found  Him  near  them. 
He  who  was  faithful  to  them  will  be  faithful 
to  us,  and  to  those  whom  we  leave  behind. 

Do  we,  however,  sometimes  ask,  in  the  se- 
cret of  our  own  thoughts,  which  of  us  will  go 
first  ?  Banish  them  as  we  will,  do  not  sad 
fears  sometimes  force  themselves  on  us,  as  we 

*  Trench. 


156  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

think  of  the  whitening  hair,  or  the  thinned 
hands,  or  the  pale  cheeks,  or  the  tottering 
footsteps  of  those  we  love  ?  Well,  they  may 
go  first,  but  the  interval  between  them  and 
us  in  the  balance  of  eternity  is  but  as  the 
single  tick  of  a  pendulum.  Weeping  may  en- 
dure for  a  night,  but  joy  comet  h  in  the  morning 
[Psalm  XXX.  5].  Thc  bcd  of  dcath  is  the  presence- 
chamber  of  Jesus.  We  who  stand  by  can  not 
see  with  our  mortal  eyes  what  is  vouchsafed 
to  those  who  are  putting  on  immortality;  but 
if  we  can  not  know,  we  may  at  least  conject- 
ure, and  the  radiant  joy  that  sometimes  lights 
up  the  wan  countenance  of  a  dying  Christian 
tells  of  an  Invisible  Presence  that  is  shining 
there.  It  is  a  solemn  moment  as  the  soul 
passes  away ;  yet  for  us  only  is  it  a  time  of 
sadness.  They,  if  they  could  speak,  would 
say,  Weep  not  for  me,  but  sing  with  me,  O 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave ^  where  is 
thy  victory  f  [i  cor.  xv.  55]. 

And  He  who  goes  with  them  stays  with 
us.  For  He  is  in  Paradise  with  those  that 
sleep  in  Him.  He  is  on  earth  with  those  that 
wait  for  Him.  He  can  think  of  the  living  as 
well  as  of  the  dying;  of  those  who  have  still 


THE  SHADOW  OF  DBA  TH. 


157 


to  grapple  with  the  last  struggle,  as  well  as  of 
those  who  sing  the  conqueror's  song. 

So  we  pass  out  of  the  sight  of  our  dead, 
wondering  at  our  own  calmness.  Thankful- 
ness for  the  glorious  change  passed  on  them 
absorbs  all  selfish  thought  of  the  grief  come 
on  us.  We  too  feel,  that  if  we  have  lost 
much,  we  have  gained  much  ;  earth  is  beneath 
us ;  we  have  stood  on  the  very  threshold  of 
heaven,  and  the  love  of  Christ  is  more  real 
than  ever.  On  the  morrow,  when  we  go  out 
of  our  chamber  to  do  our  work,  to  meet  our 
friends,  to  feel  our  loss ;  He  who  was  with  us 
in  the  quiet  night,  meets  us  in  the  glare  of  the 
morning ;  we  remember  the  promise,  Thy 
brother  shall  rise  again  [John  xi.  23]. 


V. 

THE  TABLE  OF  GOD 

'thou   preparest  a  table   before  me  in  the  presence  of   MIKB 

enemies;   thou   ANOIKTEST    iMY    HEAD    WITH     OIL;    MY    CUP   RUN- 
NETH OVER." 

'*  //  n^y  a  que  deux  voies  pour  se  rendre  heureux 
et  content:  Vune  de  remplir  tous  nos  desirs^ 
r autre  de  les  borner  a  ce  que  nous  pouvom 
posseder.  La  p^reviihre  est  impossible  en  cette 
vie:  ainsi  c'esi  une  folie  d'entreprendre  de  se 
cont enter  en  ce  inonde  par  cette  voie^ — Pascal. 

HERE  are  two  views  of 

i-r  J  1        c   ^^  Two  views  of 

life,    and    each    oi    them  ^-^r^  •' 

is  sufficiently  consistent 

\vith  the  statements  of  Scripture,  with  human 

experience,  and  with  personal  faith  in  God. 

Nay,  we  may  go  even  further,  and  say  about 

them,  that   most    of  us   have,  from    time  to 

time,  alternately  inclined    to    each    of  them, 

and  that  character  as  well    as    circumstances 

may  have  a  great  deal  to  do  in  forming  our 

choice. 

(158) 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


159 


One  view  is,  that  life,  as  it  is  now,  is  sad, 
vain,  and  burdensome ;  at  the  best  but  a 
mitigated  misfortune,  at  the  worst  a  pressing 
evil,  from  Vv^hich  wice  men,  if  they  could, 
might  well  take  wings  to  flee  away.  It  is  a 
conflict  with  sin,  in  which  sin  ever  has  some 
advantage  over  us ;  it  is  a  struggle  with  ca- 
lamity, from  which  we  never  escape  without 
lasting  scars ;  it  is  a  pursuit  after  duty,  a  race 
in  which  we  are  never  winners ;  and  make  of 
it  what  we  will,  it  is  an  exile  from  God  and 
from  the  face  of  His  Christ.  No  doubt,  life 
is  God's  ordinance  ;  therefore,  we  submit  to 
it.  It  is  His  talent,  and  we  must  make  the 
best  use  of  it  we  can.  Our  Saviour  has  lived 
it,  and  we  have  His  sympathy;  it  is  our 
training-school  for  heaven,  and  we  earnestly 
wish  to  fit  ourselves  for  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed.  Yet,  what  with  the  sins  that 
corrupt  us,  and  the  mistakes  that  vex  us,  and 
the  cares  that  distract  us,  and  the  duties  that 
overpower  us,  and  the  necessities  that  engross 
us,  and  the  infirmities  that  humble  us,  and 
the  disappointments  that  sour  us,  and  the 
changes  that  unsettle  us,  and  the  afflictions 
that  crush  us,  and  the  losses  that  sadden  us, 


l6o  THE   PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

and  the  temptations  that  are  the  very  atmos- 
phere we  breathe,  all  we  can  say  about  it  is,  the 
sooner  it  is  over  the  better  ;  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly,  and  take  unto  the  rest  that  remaineth 
for  Thy  people,  the  souls  that  long  for  Thee. 

But  there  is  also  another  view,  and  as  I 
venture  to  think,  far  more  free,  more  elevat- 
ing, more  noble,  giving  God  more  glory,  and 
man  more  comfort,  tracing  through  the  most 
checkered  life  the  unfailing  thread  of  an 
eternal  purpose,  explaining  in  the  most  af- 
flicted life  the  meaning  of  the  Providence  of 
God,  and  of  the  sorrows  of  men.  This  view 
of  it  makes  life  a  gift  for  which  to  be  thank- 
ful, a  blessing  in  which  to  rejoice,  a  trust  to 
be  most  jealously  guarded,  a  most  precious 
occasion  for  learning,  and  serving,  and  imitat- 
ing our  Lord,  not  one  hour  of  which  may  we 
safely  throw  away  in  listlessness  and  careless- 
ness ;  nay,  on  the  use  of  which,  far  more  than 
some  of  us  think  of,  shall  depend  the  nature 
of  our  service,  and  the  measure  of  our  glory 
in  heaven.  Of  course  sin  has  brought  a  veil 
over  its  brightness,  and  death  through  sin  has 
made  every  blessing  insecure,  and  every  pros- 
pect  uncertain  :  here  is  not  our  rest ;  to  de- 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD.  i6l 

part  and  to  be  with  Christ,  when  the  time 
comes  for  it,  must  be  far  better ;  and  if  we 
try  to  make  it  our  rest,  we  are  soon  painfully 
reminded  that  we  are  but  strangers  and  pil- 
grims. Nevertheless,  the  really  Christian  view 
of  life,  the  view  which  justifies  Creation,  and 
explains  Redemption,  which  at  once  both 
magnifies  God's  goodness  and  our  responsi- 
bility, is  that  which  discovers  in  all  His  deal- 
ings a  most  merciful  plan  for  our  real  welfare, 
which  recognizes  in  all  our  troubles  the  mer- 
ciful visitation  of  a  Divine  pity,  which,  while 
it  removes  from  us  the  blessings  that  are  be- 
coming snares  to  us,  invariably  offers  us  the 
joy  that  it  is  safe  for  us  to  possess.  It  is  also 
the  view  that  enables  us  to  walk  in  the  spirit 
of  liberty,  that  not  only  permits,  but  encour- 
ages us  to  use  with  moderateness  and  faith 
and  thankfulness,  the  blessings  which  God 
gives  us  so  richly  to  enjoy,  in  cultivating  our 
natural  tastes,  and  enjoying  our  social  relax- 
ations, and  gladly  recognizing,  whether  in 
art,  or  science,  or  books,  or  music,  the  ap- 
propriate cultivation  of  divinely-given  facul- 
ties, and  the  kind  alleviation  of  the  toils  and 
worries  of  life.  In  the  spirit  of  the  apostle, 
II 


1 62  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

who  assures  us,  that  every  creature  of  God  is 
good,  and  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received 
with  thanksgiving  [iTim.iv.4];  when  God  places 
us  in  a  green  pasture,  we  will  not  instantly 
begin  to  think  that  there  is  a  snake  in  the 
grass.  There  is  no  more  need  to  fear  joy 
than  sorrow  ;  nay,  joy  has  a  wonderful  power 
for  widening,  and  softening,  and  elevating 
the  heart.  While  very  watchful  over  our- 
selves, we  still  need  not  distrust  either  God  or 
His  gifts ;  and  our  language  at  all  times  shall 
be.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not 
all  His  benefits ;  who  r£deerneth  thy  life  from 
destructio7t ;  who  crowneth  thee  with  loving- 
kindness  and  tender  mercies ;  who  satis fieth 
thy  mouth  with  good  things ;  so  that  thy  youth 
is  reviewed  like  the  eagle's  [Psaimciii.  1-5]. 

If  it  were  necessary  to  establish  what  has 
already  been  said  by  precise  statements  of 
Scripture,  surely  we  may  find  proof  of  it  in 
the  verse  given  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 
TJiou  preparest  a  table  before  7ne  in  the  pres- 
ence of  mine  enemies ;  thou  anointest  7ny  head 
with  oil ;  my  cup  runneth  over.  Here  we  see 
the  certainty  of  the  Divine  supplies,  and  the 
abundance  and  richness  of  them  under  what* 


THE  TABLE  OF  GGD.  163 

ever  circumstances  ;  md  if  it  be  objected  that 
David's  was  but  an  individual  and  an  ex- 
ceptional case,  it  may  fairly  be  answered — on 
the  contrary,  it  all  tells  in  our  favor.  David's 
history  is  one  of  risings  and  fallings,  dangers 
and  deliverances,  chastisements  and  bless- 
ings, noble  acts  and  terrible  inconsistencies, 
severely  and  notoriously  punished.  If,  at 
the  close  of  such  a  life,  David  could  write  in 
this  language  of  God's  dealings  with  him,  it 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  any  one  can. 
The  difference  of  one  life  from  another  in 
outward  prosperity  is  probably  much  less 
than  is  generally  supposed.  But  the  differ- 
ence in  the  spirit  with  which  God's  dealings 
with  us  are  met  and  borne  is  very  great  in- 
deed ;  and  as  that  is  a  matter  over  which  we 
all  have  control,  so  is  it  also  the  secret  which 
determines  for  all,  whether  they  work  to- 
gether for  good  or  for  evil. 

The  immediate  allusion  in  these  words  is 
evidently  to  the  touching  and  bountiful  hos- 
pitality with  which  the  aged  Barzillai  wel- 
comed David  when  an  exile  from  his  home 
and  his  country  [2Sam.xvii.27-23].  But  they  have 
their   historical    illustrations   elsewhere    also 


164  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

In  the  wilderness,  for  instance,  God  furnished  a 
table  for  His  people,  and  man  did  eat  angels' 
food,  and  He  sent  them  meat  to  the  full. 
Again,  when  Elijah  fled  from  the  face  of  Jeze- 
bel, as  he  slept  under  a  juniper  tree,  an  angel 
touched  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Arise  and  eat. 
A?id  he  looked,  and,  behold,  there  was  a  cake 
taken  on  the  coals,  and  a  cruse  of  water  at  his 
/^^^^  [1  Kin^s  XIX.  5, 6].  In  the  New  Testament  we 
have  a  greater  instance  still,  when  He  who 
was  both  David's  son  and  David's  Lord,  after 
His  conflict  with  Satan,  was  ministered  to 
by  angels.  And  by  way  of  both  indicating 
and  expounding  the  distinct  ideas  contained 
severally  in  the  two  paragraphs  of  the  verse, 
first  let  us  meditate  on  the  former  one,  which 
declares  the  abundance  of  the  Divine  sup- 
plies under  circumstances  of  conflict  and  dan- 
ger ;  and  then  inquire  how  the  latter  one, 
which  is  a  most  significant  declaration  of  the 
blessedness,  in  all  things,  of  a  tr  le  believer's 
life,  has  its  actual  verification  in  the  individual 
experience  of  sincere  Christians,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  consistent  with  the  occasional  and 
apparent  contradictions  to  it  in  the  provi- 
dential government  of  God. 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


i6s 


la.ra! 


HE  psalmist  speaks  here,  as  so  often 
elsewhere,  of  his  personal  enemies. 
The  history  of  his  life  is  a  history  of  one  who, 
whether  in  the  vindication  of  private  wrongs, 
or  in  incessant  conflict  with  his  country's 
enemies,  had  been,  in  God's  own  words,  a 
man  of  war  and  had  shed  blood  [i  chron.  xxviii.  3]. 
Some  of  these  enemies  he  had  no  doubt  made 
for  himself;  but  most  of  them  must  have 
been  so  through  the  nature  of  the  task  al- 
lotted to  him  which  was  to  consolidate  into 
one  united  and  compact  kingdom  the  dismem- 
bered sovereignty  he  had  inherited  from  Saul. 

The  difficulty  practically  be- 
gins, when  we  apply  the  words  to  On  personal  ert- 
our  own  circumstances.  Many 
persons  are  unconscious  of  enemies  of  any 
kind.  If  we  have  such,  and  it  is  through 
our  own  fault,  why  do  not  we  hasten  to  be 
reconciled,  and  to  turn  them  into  friends  ? 
Or,  if  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  really 
use  the  words  is  to  interpret  them  spiritually, 
what  sense  is  there  in  saying  that  in  the  pres- 
ence of  spiritual  temptations  God  spreads  us 
a  feast  ? 


1 66  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST, 

To  take  these  points  one  by 

SLl  ''"     °"^  ■■  fi^-^t-  ^^''h  respect  to  per- 
sonal     enemies — enemies    not 
only  in  the  sense  of  those  who,  as  in  David's 
case,  would,  if  they  could,  deliberately  do  us 
harm,  even  perhaps  to  the  extent  of  killing 
us  ;  but  also  in  the  sense  of  those  who,  either 
from   a  supposed    slight   or   injury,    or   from 
envy  and  jealousy  of  us,  or  from  that  utter 
opposition  and  contrariety  of  nature  which  in 
some  persons  creates  a  kind  of  repulsion  and 
dislike,  almost  amounting  to  enmity,  let  us 
try  to  see  clearly  what  the  statement  really 
means,  and  how  we  are  justified  in  using  it  as 
a  promise  and  consolation.     Of  course,  if  we 
have  made  any  one  our  enemy  by  injustice, 
or  neglect,   or  misconduct   of  any  kind,   we 
have  no  right  to  expect  our  Lord  to  be  on 
our  side  in  the  matter,  for  that  would  be  ex- 
pecting Him   to  be   on  the  side  of  what   is 
wrong.     Such   enemies  we  should  hasten  to 
move   out   of  their  enmity,  by  the  frank  ac- 
knowledgment of  our  error  (supposing  it  to 
be  worth  speaking  about),  and   by  the  entire 
reparation,  so   far  as  possible,  of  the  injury 
done  them.     When  we  have  been  altogether 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD.  167 

wrong,  it  must  be  the  right  course  for  us  hon- 
estly to  say  so,  and,  disagreeable  though  it 
may  be,  to  ask  to  be  forgiven.  But  when, 
as  so  often  happens,  there  may  be  wrong  on 
both  sides,  in  such  a  case  a  manly  and  candid 
explanation  may  possibly  convince  them  that 
our  error,  if  real  and  painful,  has  been  neither 
intentional  nor  malicious.  When  they  hear 
our  side,  and  see  the  question  from  our  point 
of  view,  they  may  gladly  consent  to  come 
half-way  to  meet  us,  and  to  shake  cordial 
hands  over  a  buried  quarrel. 

All  of  us,  moreover,  in  some  degree,  and 
for  various  reasons,  know  of  individuals,  whom 
we  much  prefer  not  to  meet,  to  whom,  when 
we  meet  them,  we  never  know  what  to  say, 
they  so  twist  or  dispute  our  words ;  about 
whom,  quite  consistently  with  a  sincere  re- 
spect for  their  many  excellent  qualities,  we  on 
the  whole  feel  that  the  less  w^e  see  of  them  the 
better,  till  we  are  safe  in  the  home  where  it  will 
be  impossible  either  to  be  misunderstood  or 
misrepresented,  and  where  perfect  love  will  cast 
out  fear.  Such  a  state  of  feeling  need  not  in- 
volve a  sinful  uncharitableness ;  nay,  it  is  al- 
most inevitable  for  any  one  who  is  in  the  habit 


1 68  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST.     ' 

of  Speaking  the  plain  truth,  without  pausing 
to  ask  if  it  is  Hkely  to  be  palatable ;  who 
goes  straight  on  in  what  conscience  tells  him 
to  be  the  path  of  duty,  never  flattering,  never 
bribing ;  rebuking  sin  when  he  sees  it,  check- 
ing misrepresentation  when  he  hears  it,  con- 
founding slander  wherever  and  whenever  he 
comes  across  it,  and  just  doing  and  saying  the 
thing  that  is  right,  as  God  shows  it  him, 
without  respect  of  persons,  and  indifferent 
to  the  opinion  of  the  world.  And  let  me 
add,  the  enemies  we  make  in  this  way  (I  am 
supposing  the  entire  absence  of  bitterness 
and  acrimony)  we  need  not  too  much  trouble 
ourselves  about,  nor  need  we  be  always 
thinking  how  we  can  be  reconciled  to  them. 
The  enmity  is  theirs,  not  ours ;  the  injury  is 
ours,  not  theirs.  If  they  pass  us  in  the  street 
without  speaking,  let  them  pass.  If  they  do 
not  want  us,  perhaps  others  do ;  and  the 
world  is  large  enough  for  us  both.  A  manly 
nature  ought  to  have  dignity  enough  of  its 
own  to  blunt  the  sharpness  of  pins  and 
needles.  Still,  if  sometimes  we  are  v.exed  by 
it  (and  some  natures  are  far  more  sensitive, 
much  less  robust  than  others),  let  us  remem- 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD.  169 

ber  for  our  comfort,  that  if  conscience  is  orr^ 
our  side, /Christ  is  alao..;  ii©^,  the  friend  that 
sticketh  closer  than  a  brother,  never  despises 
the  least  sorrow  of  the  very  least  of  His 
people  ;  He  wishes  us  to  cast  our  burdens 
upon  Him,  and  to  come  to  Him  when  we  are 
weary  and  heavy-laden ;  no  man  ever  suf 
fered  as  He  has  suffered  from  the  strife  of 
tongues.  I 


UT    let    us    also   consider 

,1  •       r  •       Spiritual  ene' 

these  enemies  from  a  spir-  ^^^^^^ 

itual  point  of  view,  and  see 
under  the  figure  of  a  table  spread  in  the  wil- 
derness, that  plentiful  provision  of  grace  and 
power  which  Christ  supplies  to  His  tempted 
people  in  their  hour  of  need.  The  more  we 
look  out  into  the  world,  and  the  more  that 
we  ponder  our  own  inward  history,  the  more 
convinced  we  must  be  of  a  personal  spiritual 
foe  ever  striving  to  make  us  deny  the  Lord 
that  bought  ics  [2  Pcter  ii.  i],  the  more  fully  must 
we  appreciate,  from  an  increasing  experience 
about  them,  the  terrible  force  of  St.  Paul's 
words,  that  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and 
blood,   but   against  principalities   and  powers, 


170 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


agamst  the  rulers  of  darkness  in  this  world,^ 
against    spiritual  wickedness    in    high  places 

[Eph.  vi.  12]. 

Temptation  is  the  condition  of  human  life, 
and  to  try  to  flee  from  it  in  one  shape,  is 
often  only  to  provoke  it  in  another.  Every 
period  of  life,  every  class  in  society,  every 
occupation  and  calling,  duties  as  well  as  pleas- 
ures, work  as  well  as  rest,  contain  within 
them  the  elements  of  an  incessant  temptation, 
which  it  is  at  once  our  folly  to  ignore,  our  dis- 
cipline to  encounter,  and  our  glory  to  over- 
come. It  is  no  sin  to  be  tempted,  for  Jesus, 
the  sinless  one,  was  tempted  in  all  things  like 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  It  is  no  weakness 
to  feel  the  temptation  grievous,  for  Jesus 
again  suffered  being  tempted  [Heb.ii.  isj  The  mis- 
take is  to  run  into  temptation  of  our  own  ac- 
cord. The  sin  is  in  listening  to  the  voice  of 
the  charmer  until  our  hearts  go  out  after  the 
forbidden  sweetness,  and  it  is  all  up  with  us. 
The  weakness  is,  in  our  great  terror  at  the 
noise  of  the  waves  and  the  blackness  of  the 
sky,  to  gaze  upon  the  danger  till  we  are 
rapidly  sinking  into  it,  and  till  it  is  almost  too 
late  to  call  out  to  Him  who  rides  upon  the 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD. 


171 


storm,  Lord,  save  US  :  ■ze/^/^r/^//[Matt.viii  sjj.  Yet 
if  our  enemies  are  here,  our  Saviour  is  here 
as  well.  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong 
tower :  the  righteous  runneth  into  it,  a^id  is  safe 
[Prov.xviii  101.  If  the  assaults  of  the  enemy  all  but 
exhaust  us,  and,  like  Christian  with  Apollyon, 
our  sword  flies  out  of  our  hand  when  we  want 
it  most,  and  the  battle  is  all  but  decided 
against  us  ;  at  the  last  moment  the  way  to 
escape  shall  appear,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
bear  it :  for  when  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like 
a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a 
standard  against  him  [isu.  lix.  19].  The  table  in 
the  wilderness  is  spread  by  the  Lord's  own 
hand.  He  who  provided  a  morning  meal  by 
the  lake  of  Galilee  for  His  seven  disciples, 
wearied  by  their  night's  toil ;  He  who  fed  the 
five  thousand  on  their  way  to  the  Passover,  be- 
cause He  pitied  them  as  sheep  having  no  shep- 
herd, will  be  to  His  own  tempted  and  wearied 
servants  what  the  good  Samaritan  was  to  the 
wounded  traveler,  healing  their  wounds,  sup- 
plying their  needs,  and  comforting  their  hearts 

And   perhaps  there   is  one   of 
XT      T\-    •  ^•  1-1-      "Lhe    Lord  i 

His   Divme    ordmances  which   is  SiMer, 

not  quite  so  much  looked  at  as  it 


1/2 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


ought  to  be  in  the  light  of  food  and  strength 
for  harassed  and  wounded  souls.  I  mean  the 
Lord's  Supper.  That  solemn  rite  which  Christ 
himself  instituted  on  the  eve  of  His  passion, 
in  anticipation  of  His  own  agony  and  death, 
and  in  which  He  surely  conveys  to  all  who 
faithfully  approach  Him  the  spiritual  food  of 
His  own  body  and  blood,  may  most  reason- 
ably be  regarded  as  a  Divine  provision  for  the 
refreshment  of  regenerate  souls,  torn  and  de- 
pressed by  spiritual  conflict.  To  all  Christians 
in  turn,  come  now  and  then  sudden  tornado- 
gusts  of  temptation,  when  Satan,  hoping  to 
find  them  off  their  guard,  brings  to  bear  upon 
them  all  in  a  moment  the  terrible  artillery  of 
his  malice,  and  when  nothing  but  a  very  agony 
of  prayer  will  bring  down  from  heaven  the 
power  and  the  faith  to  make  him  flee  away. 
After  such  conflicts  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a 
most  timely  and  blessed  channel  of  healing, 
and  consolation,  and  joy.  It  reminds  us  of 
the  blood  of  Christ  to  purge  the  conscience, 
sore  with  those  touches  of  the  spirit  of  evil 
which  seem  ever  to  leave  some  pollution  be- 
hind. It  tells  us  of  the  death  of  Christ,  as 
that  which  has  expiated  sin,  and  been  made 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD. 


173 


the  chastisement  of  our  peace  [isa.iiii.5].  It  points 
us  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  whereby  we, 
being  dead  unto  sin,  live  unto  righteousness, 
through  our  sharing  the  risen  life  of  our  risen 
Lord.  It  brings  before  us  the  very  person 
and  presence  of  the  ascended  and  glorified 
Christ  to  be  our  meat  and  drink,  our  joy  and 
gladness,  our  peace  and  repose,  our  present 
possession  and  our  hope  of  glory,  wherein  He 
on  His  side  says  to  us,  I  am  the  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  Jieavcn  :  if  any  man  eat 
of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever  uo\m  vi.  51] ; 
wherein  we  on  our  side  say  to  Him,  Set  me  as 
a  seal  upon  Thine  heart,  as  a  seal  upon  Thi^ie 
arm  [Cum.  viii.  ej. 


UT  the  sufficiency  of  God's  supply  is  not 
so  hard  to  believe  as  the  abundance  or 
the  richness  of  it.  Most  can  admit  that  they 
have  enough.  It  is  a  different  thing,  however, 
and  much  harder,  to  acknowledge  God's  boun- 
tifulness  as  the  rule  and  not  the  exception  of 
His  providential  government,  and  to  say,  with 
the  psalmist,  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  words, 
Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ;  my  cup  run- 
neth   over.      For    in    Scripture   phraseology, 


174 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRtST. 


anointing  with  oil  means  honor,  or  at  least 
respect,  and  the  cup  filled  till  it  runs  ovei 
means  a  plentiful  abundance;  yet,  so  far  as 
we  can  see,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  good 
Christians  live  and  die  in  a  happy  obscurity 
and,  in  a  hard  life  of  scrambling  poverty,  are 
only  too  thankful  if  each  day,  according  to 
their  Master's  promise,  brings  with  it  its  daily 
bread.  Let  us,  then,  proceed  to  consider  why 
these  words  are  true,  and  how,  and  when,  and 
for  whom. 

They  are  true,  then,  because 
God  to  be  re-  Qod  is  Love,  and  one  revelation 
Giver,  ^^  \-\i-dX  love  is  in  His  character  as 

a  Giver.  God  is  a  free,  and  a  full, 
and  a  cheerful  Giver.  In  temporal  things  and 
in  spiritual,  out  of  full  hands  and  an  inex- 
haustible heart.  He  pours  out  on  the  Church 
of  His  Son  showers  of  blessing.  The  earth  is 
the  Lord '.?,  and  the  fullness  thereof  [Fsaim  xxiv.  i]. 
And  if  evidence  of  this  bountifulness  is  asked 
for,  evidence  patent  to  the  senses,  and  suffi- 
cient to  compel  consent  from  the  most  grudg- 
ing and  skeptical  hearts,  ought  we  not  to  see, 
even  in  the  glories  of  the  inanimate  creation, 
as  well  as  in  the  prodigality  of  kindness  where- 


\ 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


175 


with  the  Maker  of  all  things  has  bestowed  on 
mere  animal  life  provision,  not  only  for  exist- 
ence, but  even  for  enjoyment ;  that  God,  in 
making  this  fair  world,  made  it  for  brightness 
and  joy;  and  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth 
and  travaileth  in  pain  [Rom.  vm.  22]  through  the  in- 
terruption of  the  Divine  purpose  by  man's  sin  ? 
Let  us  never  suppose  that  God  cares  only  for 
the  soul,  and  not  also  for  the  body  ;  that  the 
temporal  needs  of  His  redeemed  people  are  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  Him  ;  that  the  main- 
tenance of  a  laboring  man  can  be  beneath  His 
notice  who  sent  His  own  Son  to  work  as  a 
carpenter,  or  that  a  little  child's  happiness  is 
uncared  for  by  that  eternal  Father  who  has 
looked  on  His  Christ  as  a  helpless  infant  slum- 
bering in  a  human  mother's  arms.  God  cares 
for  everything  that  can  affect  His  people  ;  and 
if  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without 
Him,  then  not  the  meanest  slave  that  cries 
up  to  Him  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  not 
the  most  ragged  child  that  honors  His  name, 
in  the  lowest  London  alley,  is  unseen  by  Him 
who  redeemed  all  the  world,  because  He 
loved  it  all,  and  who  has  His  own  hidden 
^vays  of  blessedly  compensating  the  sorrows 


ly^  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

which  He  does  not  interpose  to  prevent,  but 
which  He  is  ever  wilHng  to  sanctify  and  to 
heal. 

But  if  God's  character  as  a  Giver  is  mani- 
fested continually  in  matters  of  the  body, 
equally  so  is  it  in  things  of  the  soul.  When 
He  gave  His  Son  He  gave  all  He  had  to  give, 
for  He  gave  Himself.  Jesus  on  the  manger, 
on  the  cross,  in  the  grave,  is  the  sufficient 
proof  of  the  infinite  love  of  God.  There  is 
grace  enough,  and  to  spare,  for  all  who  need 
it,  since  the  intercession  of  Christ  means  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit ;  and  He  who  spared  Christ 
not  only  to  be  our  victim,  but  our  example, 
not  only  to  be  a  righteousness  for  us,  but  a 
life  within  us,  He,  let  us  be  sure,  desires,  far 
more  than  we  do,  to  conform  us  to  the  image 
of  His  Son,  and  will  with  Him  also  freely  give 
us  all  tilings  [Roni.  viii.  32]. 

F  we  ask  how  all  this  is  true, 

,1  •      i.1    X.    r-u  •  i.'     How  this  ii 

the    answer  is,  that   Christ  s  ^^^^^ 

fullness  is  for  His  people,  and  that 
through  and  according  to  the  life  and  meas- 
ure of  their  union  and  fellowship  with  Him, 
do  they  receive  of  that  fullness,  and  grace  for 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


177 


^r^^^  [John i.  16].     All  tilings  are  yours  j  whether 

Paul,  or  Apcllos,  or  life,  or  deaths  or  things 

present,  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours  ;  and 

ye  are  Christ's ;  and  Christ  is  God's   [i  cor.  lii.  21-23]. 

Life  is  the  Christian's  in  a  far  higher  and  fuller 

sense  than  it  is  the  worldly  man's,  since  he 

enjoys  it  on  a  far  higher  level  of  blessedness, 

and   uses  it   in  a  much  nobler  cause.     Even 

death  is  his,  since,  though  for  a  moment  it 

triumphs   over  him,  in  the  end  he  triumphs 

over  it,  and,  while  he  seems  to  yield  to  it,  he 

treads  it  under  his  feet.     For  it  is  the  portal 

to  life  ;  and  while  our  friends  are  weeping  at 

our  bedside,  a  chorus  of  angels  welcomes  us 

into  Paradise.     What   the  world  dreads,  the 

believer  at  last  welcomes,  for  it  severs  us  from 

sin,  and  takes  us  to  the  vision  of  God. 

If  (to  proceed  to  the  fuller  exposition  of 

this  somewhat  startling  paradox)  we  ask  when 

it   is  true — only  in   the  life  to     ^    ,     , 

.  And  when. 

come,  or  also  m  the  present  life, 

we  answer.  Now,  to-day,  down  here  on  earth 
and  if  the  answer  a  little  staggers  us,  and  we 
inquire  how  it  is  possible  to  reconcile  such  a 
statement  with  the  histories  in  Holy  Script- 
are,  with  the  personal  experience  of  sincere 

12 


1^8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

Christians,  with  the  needful  chastisement  that 
comes  to  all  in  turn,  the  answer  is,  It  may  not, 
it  can  not  always  be  felt  to  be  true,  but  that 
does  not  therefore  make  it  cease  to  be  true ; 
in  moments  of  exhaustion  and  depression,  the 
strongest  faith  may  doubt,  the  stoutest  cour- 
age murmur.  When  the  thorn  in  the  flesh 
grieved  him,  even  a  St.  Paul  besought  the 
Lord  thrice  that  it  might  be  taken  away ;  and 
the  psalmist,  whose  very  words  we  are  this 
moment  considering,  has  left  on  record  how, 
in  his  ^'  distress,"  he  cried  unto  the  Lord,  and 
He  heard  him.  Yet  at  the  end  of  life,  the 
review  of  it  ever  calls  up  from  a  Christian's 
lips,  poor  and  afflicted  though  he  may  have 
been,  a  living  and  loud  expression  of  wonder- 
ing thankfulness.  The  same  St.  Paul  could 
afterward  write  from  his  prison  cell  at  Rome: 
/  have  all,  and  abound  [Piin.  iv.  is].  Humility  and 
faith  are  twin  sisters.  Even  in  life  itself, 
amidst  its  labors  and  trials,  and  losses  and 
sorrows,  the  believing  soul  continually  rejoices 
to  rest  in  the  Lord's  goodness,  takes  what  is 
given  it,  and  is  still. 

Actual  facts  may  indeed  prevent  our  saying 
we  have  always  everything  we  wish  for  at  the 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


179 


moment  we  ask  for  it.  Our  nature  has  many 
needs  and  desires  ;  and  so  long  as  some  of 
them  are  unsatisfied,  as  some  of  them  in  the 
nature  of  things  always  must  be,  there  will  so- 
far  be  a  tendency  in  us  to  dissatisfaction  and 
unrest.  When,  for  instance,  God  deprives  us 
of  some  valued  friend,  or  some  precious  gift, 
He  means  us  to  feel  the  loss  ;  and  maybe  all 
through  life  we  shall  continue  to  feel  it,  just 
as  an  old  wound,  long  after  it  has  healed  over, 
is  wont  to  remind  us  that  it  is  there.  There- 
fore when  we  speak  of  Christ  being  all-suffi- 
cient, and  indeed  in  any  use  of  the  words  we 
point  to  an  ideal  standard  very  high  above  us, 
we  do  not  mean  that  He  will  be  or  can  be  to 
us  in  all  respects  precisely  what  the  friend 
was  whose  loss  we  mourn.  What  we  do 
mean  is  partly  that  He  will  strengthen  us  to 
endure  our  loss  bravely:  partly  that  He  will 
fill  more  completely  with  His  own  presence 
that  part  of  us  which  He  claims  as  His 
own. 

Once  more,  while  it  is  true  for    ,    ,  ^ 

...      -  .         .  .  ,  And  for  whom» 

all,  whether  they  know  it   and 

care  for  it  or  not,  yet  the  truth  of  it  comes 

home  as  an  actual  and  blessed  fact  only  to 


l8o  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

true  believers ;  and  to  them,  just  according 
to  the  simplicity  of  their  faith,  and  the 
amount  of  their  capacity,  and  the  measure 
of  their  obedience,  and  the  devoutness  of 
their  love.  We  are  none  of  us  quite  always 
the  same,  and  then  there  are  all  possible 
varieties  of  faith  and  patience  among  the  real 
children  of  God  ;  and  it  is  not  every  one  who 
can  sincerely  say,  just  at  the  moment  of  his 
loss,  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord  [Job  i.  21]. 
Yet  as  the  opened  eyes  of  Elisha's  servant 
saw  the  mountain  round  about  Dothan  full 
of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about 
Elisha,  so  the  eye  of  a  mighty  faith  can  dis- 
cern the  Divine  Presence  and  rest  in  it,  while 
others  are  conscious  only  of  a  thick  darkness, 
and  God  seems  lost  out  of  His  world.  For  it 
is  faith,  and  nothing  else,  that  can  give  the 
victory  over  the  sharpness  of  pain,  and  the 
desolateness  of  bereavement,  and  the  humili- 
ation of  sickness,  and  the  necessities  of  pov- 
erty; and  while  one  man  cries  out,  All  these 
things  are  against  me  [Gen.  xiii.  36],  another  is  able 
even  to  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  i7i  re^ 
proaclies,  in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  dis' 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD.  igl 

tresses  for  Christ's  sake  :  for  when  I  am  weak 
then  am  I  strong:;  [2  cor.  xii.  loj. 

OME  Christians,  again,  According  to  the 
have  far  more  power  of  capacity  of  receive 
receiving  than  others  ;  and,  ^^^^* 
while  into  some  hearts  the  Divine  grace  can 
only  distill  itself  slowly,  and  drop  by  drop, 
others  so  thirst  for  the  living  water,  that  God 
can  rain  it  down  on  them  in  abundant 
showers.  Open  thy  mouth  zvide,  and  I  zvill 
fill  it  [Psalm  ixxxi.  10],  is  an  inspired  sentence, 
which  not  only  indicates  the  bountifulness  of 
God,  but  also  the  responsibility  of  man.  If 
through  our  earthliness,  or  our  indevoutness, 
or  our  indulgence  of  sin,  or  our  littleness  and 
shallowness  of  soul,  we  can  not  hold  much  of 
the  Divine  fullness,  and  so,  in  times  of  long 
watching  and  severe  trial,  our  lamps  seem  go- 
ing out,  let  us  not  find  fault  with  the  apparent 
niggardliness  of  the  Divine  giver ;  rather  let 
us  ask  to  be  taught  how  to  offer  the  prayer, 
Deal  bountifully  with  Thy  servant,  O  Lord, 
that  I  may  live,  and  keep  Thy  word  [p^am cxix. itj. 

A  habit  of  ready,  exact,  and  Safeguard 
conscientious    obedience    is   an  agahist  mur' 
excellent  preservative  against  a  ^^^^^^^S' 


1 82  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

spirit  of  murmuring.  An  obedient  soul  can 
be  trusted  with  much  more  prosperity  than  a 
disobedient  or  self-indulgent  one  ;  and  though 
this  remark  must  Instantly  be  qualified  by 
the  warning  not  to  presume  to  interpret  our 
neighbor's  outward  circumstances  by  his  in- 
ner life  before  God  ;  though,  in  some  cases, 
as  has  been  elsewhere  noticed,"^  the  very 
highest  honor  that  a  Holy  God  can  put  upon 
us  is  to  choose  us  out  from  the  crowd  to  learn 
the  fellowship  of  Christ's  sufferings  [Phu.  in.  lo] ; 
it  is  also  true  to  say,  that  few  of  us  are  aware 
how  we  mar  our  own  happiness,  and,  so  to 
speak,  put  it  out  of  God's  power  to  prosper 
us,  as  otherwise  He  might  be  willing  to  do, 
through  our  abusing  this  world  instead  of 
using  it,  through  our  turning  the  gifts  of  His 
kindness  into  mere  occasions  of  falling.  God 
loves  us  far  too  well  and  too  wisely  to  give  us 
what  we  should  only  turn  to  our  hurt.  When 
we  have  eaten  and  are  full,  our  heart  is  too 
often  lifted  up,  and  we  forget  the  Lord  our 
God,  who  led  us  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  we 
say  in  our  heart.  My  power,  and  the  might  of 
my  hand  hath  gotten  me  this  wealth  [oeut.  viii.  iri 

*  See  p.  55. 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD.  183 

Once  more,  it  is  according  to  our  love  that 
we  turn  God's  dealings  with  us  into  health 
and  blessing  ;  for  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  Him  [Rom.  viii.  28].  God's 
gifts  are  good,  but  He  Himself  is  better.  A 
man's  life  consisteth  riot  in  the  abundance  of  the 
things  which  he  posse ssetJi  [Luke  xii.  15].  It  is  not 
so  much  in  the  enjoyment  of  outward  pros- 
perity, nor  in  the  possession  of  earthly  bless- 
ings, nor  in  the  praise  of  men,  whether  of  the 
Church  or  the  world,  that  our  true  wealth,  or 
strength,  or  honor  can  chiefly  lie.  Rather 
these  are  in  a  heart  purified  from  sin,  lifted 
above  the  world,  calm  and  humble  in  fellow- 
ship with  God  in  Christ,  recognizing  love  in 
all  the  Divine  dealings,  and  welcoming  His 
will  as  ever  wise,  kind,  and  true. 

Professor  Caird,  in  one  of  his  Distinction  be- 
most  suggestive  theological  frag-  tween  peace  mid 
ments,  has  pointed  out  the  im-  ^^'^PP"^^^^- 
portant  distinction  between  peace  and  happi- 
ness ;  and  has  explained  how  the  worldly 
man  may  have  happiness  without  peace,  and 
the  Christian  man  peace  without  happiness. 
Now,  this  is  a  truth  which  has  a  very  close 
bearing  on  the  subject  before  us.     Happiness 


1 84  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

is  often  the  result  of  mere  characteristic  buoy« 
ancy,  of  vigorous  bodily  health,  of  material 
prosperity,  in  company  either  with  the  enthu- 
siasm of  youth  or  the  ardent  activities  of  man- 
hood ;  and,  while  the  utter  absence  of  any 
deeper  and  more  elevated  feelings  tends  to 
make  this  happiness  brighter  and  heartier,  it 
is,  nevertheless,  the  happiness  of  only  the  sur- 
face of  our  nature,  perfectly  compatible  with 
irreligion,  or  viciousness,  or  selfishness,  or 
vanity — subject  at  any  moment  to  be  ter- 
ribly and  hopelessly  interrupted,  and  with 
nothing  to  fall  back  upon  but  the  misery  of 
its  recollections. 

Whereas  peace  is  independent  of  the  changes 
and  chances  of  life,  and  can  no  more  be  dis- 
turbed, by  what  men  call  misfortune,  in  its 
lofty  dominion  over  the  inmost  spirit,  than 
the  depths  of  the  ocean  can  be  stirred  by  the 
winter  gales  that  beat  its  surface  into  foam. 
Not  only  is  it  the  gift  of  God,  but  it  is  His 
very  presence.  Sickness  can  not  destroy  it ; 
poverty  can  not  rob  it  of  its  incorruptible 
riches ;  bereavement  only  makes  it  more  real. 
and  the  approach  of  death  more  deep.  The 
world,  which  can  not  give  it,  can  not  take  it 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD,  jg^ 

a-way ;  its  root  is  in  the  immovable  assurance 
of  the  Divine  acceptance  and  favor  through 
the  blood  and  righteousness  of  the  Saviour. 
It  gradually  spreads  its  roots  over  the  entire 
spiritual  being,  through  the  sanctifying  power 
of  the  eternal  Spirit ;  and  while  the  only  thing 
that  can  ruffle  it  is  the  silent  reproach  of  a 
wounded  conscience,  the  only  thing  in  all  the 
world  to  destroy  it  is  sin. 

Thus,  though  we  may  not  always  be  able 
to  say  we  are  happy — there  are  times  when 
it  would  not  only  be  unnatural,  but  even 
wrong  to  be  happy,  such  as  when  a  child  is 
dying,  or  when  God  has  taken  from  us  our 
work,  and  made  us  sit  still  with  folded  hands 
and  closed  lips — we  may  still  have  peace. 
The  Lord  hath  overcome  death  ;  and  if  we 
may  not  serve  Him  now,  His  purpose  for  us 
is  that  we  may  serve  Him  better  presently. 
Christ  still  leaves  His  peace  with  us  ;  still 
says  to  us,  as  to  His  disciples  of  old,  Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled ;  neither  let  it  be  afraid 

CJnbn  XIT.  87]. 


1 86  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

|ND  this  brings  us  to  con- 

.  1  .        ,1        1^1  On  disa'b'boinU 

sider,    in    the    last    place,  jj^^j^ts. 


the  subject  of  disappointments 
— an  experience  of  life  with  which  all  are 
familiar,  and  which  at  first  sight  it  is  not  quite 
so  easy  to  explain,  either  as  a  merciful  feature 
in  the  Divine  government,  or  as  consistent 
with  the  truth  of  the  Divine  sufficiency. 

What  varieties  of  disappoint- 
ments  meet  us  all  in  turn  as  we   f/^^j^^^ 
pass   on   through  life !     To   be- 
gin with   temporal    things,    the  deepest,   the 
saddest,  the  most  abiding  and  inconsolable  of 
all  is  disappointment  in  the  affections,  where 
the  heart,  surprised,  it  may  be,  into  the  dis 
covery  of  its  own  aspirations,  is,  through  the 
force  of  events,  foiled,  and  thrown  back  upon 
itself,  with,  for  years  afterward,   the  painful 
feeling  of  the  plan  of  its  life  crossed,  and  its 
bright    opportunity   gone,    may    be,    forever. 
Roughly  to  scoff  at  this  as  mere  sentimen- 
talism    is  to  ignore  some  of    the  most    pro- 
found   feelings  of  human    nature  under    the 
cover  of  a  sarcasm.     Where  men  as  well  as 
women  are  equally  liable  to,  and  are  equally 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD.  187 

wounded  by,  the  same  disappointment,  if  it 
is  an  infirmity  at  all,  it  is  at  least  one  that 
human  beings  are  born  to.  And  to  suppose 
that  the  Christian  religion,  the  great  glory 
and  blessedness  of  which  is,  that  it  meets, 
and  recognizes,  and  covers  every  part  of  our 
nature  only  to  educate,  and  elevate,  and 
sanctify  it,  has  no  cure  to  offer  for  troubles 
of  this  kind ;  or  that  this  one  sorrow,  which 
is  capable  of  taking  a  far  more  complete 
hold  of  us  than  almost  any  other,  is  beneath 
the  notice  of  Him  who  is  the  head  of  human- 
ity, and  the  brother  born  for  adversity — is  to 
bring  a  heavier  charge  against  the  complete- 
ness of  our  divine  faith,  than  even  its  worst 
enemies  could  bring — is  to  suppose  that  when 
Christ  invited  the  weary  and  heavy-laden  to 
come  to  Him  for  rest.  He  all  along  meant  to 
refuse  to  heal  the  broken  in  heart,  and  to  bind 
up  all  their  wounds. 

Think  again  of  a  professional  man  who  has 
diligently  prepared  himself  for  the  exercise 
of  his  calling,  and  who  is  conscious  (it  need 
not  be  unduly)  of  powers  and  gifts  which, 
in  obedience  to  a  principle  within  him,  he 
reasonably  wishes   to  put  out    to   use.      But 


1 88  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

the  opening  does  not  come,  the  advancement 
is  not  offered,  the  place  he  feels  to  have 
earned  does  not  turn  up,  and  he  lingers  on  in 
obscurity  and  poverty,  with  a  keen  sense  of 
disappointment  gnawing  at  his  heart,  and  all 
spirit  and  energy  dying  out  within  him. 

Or  a  child  is  anxiously  longed  for,  under 
circumstances,  it  may  be,  that  would  make  it 
a  great  joy  and  blessing :  as  when  an  heir  is 
needed  to  carry  on  a  name,  and  inherit  a  prop- 
erty ;  or  where  the  father  is  dead,  and  the 
widowed  survivor  looks  for  the  promised 
treasure  as  the  one  thing  life  will  be  worth  liv- 
ing for,  a  holy  trust  to  be  cherished  and  ful- 
filled for  God.  It  comes,  and  oh  how  the 
grateful  heart  blesses  a  kind  God  for  His 
goodness  !  But  after  staying  just  long  enough 
to  let  its  mother  discover  its  exceeding  pre- 
ciousness,  or  make  its  father's  heart  proud 
with  joy,  it  returns  to  the  God  who  gave  it, 
and  the  solitude  that  was  filled  for  a  mo- 
ment is  more  solitary,  more  desolate  than  be- 
fore. 

So  too  in  spiritual  things,  how  often  we 
seem  to  pray  for  some  grace  or  disposition, 
of    which,    to    our    shame    and    sorrow,    we 


THE   TABLE  OF  GOD. 


189 


deeply  feel  to  be  in  need  ;  yet  the  prayer 
does  not  seem  answered,  while  still  the  grace 
is  denied. 

Or  our  labors  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
others  meet  with  but  poor  success.  We 
preach,  and  no  man  regards  us.  We  invite, 
but  no  man  follows  us.  We  rebuke,  but  no 
man  heeds  us.  We  teach  and  warn,  and 
plead,  but  the  seed  seems  always  to  fall  on 
stony  ground.  The  language  of  our  heart  is 
with  the  prophet  of  old,  /  have  labored  in 
vain  [Isaiah  xiix.  4].  The  experience  of  our  failure 
is  precisely  that  of  the  apostles  on  the  sea  of 
Galilee,  We  have  toiled  all  the  night,  and  taken 
nothing  w.\\\^s.s\.  Nay,  perhaps,  the  one  soul 
that  we  have  specially  cared  for,  watched 
over,  and  prayed  about,  is  more  resolute  than 
any  other  in  resisting  the  offers  of  salvation, 
is  more  indifferent  than  any  other  to  the  love 
which  passe th  hiowledge  [Eph.  in.  19]. 

Now  the  first  thing  I  would  observe  about 
these  various  disappointments  is,  Disa-b-boint- 
that  they  occur  to  us  all  in  turn  ;  me7its  occur  to 
no  temptation,   in    this   respect,  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^^ 
can  take  us  but  such  as  is  familiar  to  every 
one.     This  human  life  brings  equal  risks,  in 


igO  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

flicts  equal  cares.  The  Bible  is  full  of  disap- 
pointments both  in  matters  of  this  life  and 
of  the  life  to  come. 

How  hard  it  must  have  seemed  to  Jacob, 
not  only  to  be  disappointed  of  Rachel, 
but  also  to  be  defrauded  of  his  fair  wages 
and  advancement,  is  evident  from  his  own 
words  :  In  the  day  the  drought  consumed  nie^ 
and  the  f?'ost  by  night;  and  my  sleep  de- 
parted from  mine  eyes.  Thus  have  I  been 
twenty  years  in  thy  house  :  I  have  served  thee 
fourteen  years  for  thy  tzvo  daughters,  and  six 
years  for  thy  cattle,  and  thou  hast  changed  my 
zvages  ten  times.  Except  the  God  of  my  fathers, 
the  God  of  AbraJiam,  and  the  fear  of  Isaac, 
had  been  with  me,  surely  thou  hadst  sent  me 
azvay  now  empty  [Gen.  xxxi.  40-42]. 

Then  it  must  have  been  severely  mortify- 
ing for  David  not  to  build  the  temple  ;  yet 
he  was  only  permitted  to  collect  the  mate- 
rials. It  really  seems  to  be  God's  law  never 
to  suffer  any  one  man  to  do  all  a  work.  One 
sowcth,  and  another  reapeth  [joimiv.  37].  This 
man  finishes  what  that  man  began. 

Again,  how  in  the  first  months  of  his  im- 
prisonment the  eager  spirit  of  St.  Paul  mu.st 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD.  IqI 

have  been  tempted  to  chafe  and  fret,  inter- 
rupted in  his  journey  to  Rome,  baffled  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  whole  world  seemed 
opening  for  the  Gospel,  his  enemies  free  to  do 
all  the  harm  they  could,  and  he,  in  the  prime 
of  his  life,  and  at  the  pinnacle  of  his  success, 
a  ppsoner  in  bonds. 

Nay,  we  may  go  even  further,  and  not 
shrinking  from  recognizing  in  the  perfection 
of  our  blessed  Lord's  human  nature  all  our 
own  liabilities  to  sorrow,  we  may,  without  the 
least  irreverence,  discover  from  more  than 
one  incident  in  the  Gospels,  how  the  Saviour 
was  disappointed  Himself. 

When  the  rich  ruler  came  to  Him,  full  of 
sincerity  and  zealousness,  Jesus,  beholding 
him,  loved  him,  and  enjoined  on  him  the 
carrying  of  the  daily  cross  as  the  one  condi- 
tion of  discipleship  !  As  the  young  man 
went  away  sorrowful  [Luke  xviii.  24],  do  not  the 
words  of  the  Lord  indicate  a  deep  mournful- 
ness  over  the  soul  that  would  not  be  saved  ? 
When,  after  the  transfiguration.  He  was  met  by 
the  mortifying  failure  of  the  disciples  to  cast 
out  the  evil  spirit.  His  words  of  pained  sur- 
prise testify  to  the  disappointment :   O  faith- 


192 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


less  and  perverse  generation,  how  long  shall  1 
be  with  you,  and  suffer  you?  [Lukeix.4i].  Once 
more,  when,  in  His  agony,  His  human  soul 
needed  human  sympathy,  and  He  came  to 
the  apostle,  who  but  an  hour  before  had 
promised  to  die  for  Him,  only  to  find  him 
sleeping,  His  troubled  soul  relieved  itself  in 
the  sad  exclamation,  Simon,  sleepest  thou  ? 
couldest  not  thou  watch  one  hour  ?  [Mark  xiv.  371. 


^S  to  the  -lessons  that  our  dis- 

k^  .    ^  ,  ,    The  lessons  they 

HI   appomtments   are   meant  are  to  teach  us. 

to  teach  us,  and  the  temper  and 
spirit  in  which  we  should  endeavor  to  meet 
them,  it  may  be  useful  to  offer  a  few  grave 
words.     First,   our  disappointments    ,^ 

HtllHllltV , 

are  to  teach  us  humility.  There 
are  a  great  many  persons  in  the  world  more 
able,  more  skillful,  more  educated,  more  ex- 
perienced than  we  are ;  and  if  these  men  are 
served  first,  and  promoted  first,  so  much 
the  better  for  society,  if  so  much  the  worse 
for  us.  It  is  but  common  sense  in  those  who 
have  places  to  give  away  to  find  the  best  pos- 
sible instruments  for  filling  them.  It  is  but 
common    fairness   in  us  to  acknowledge    the 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


193 


merit  that  is  superior  to  our  own.  Many  of 
us,  especially  if  we  go  by  what  our  wives,  and 
sisters,  and  mothers  say  of  us,  are  apt  to 
think  far  too  well  of  ourselves,  and  the  most 
wholesome,  because  the  most  effectual,  cure 
to  this  self-conceit,  is  when  we  discover  by 
painful  experience  that  we  are  not  so  much 
wanted,  nor  so  highly  thought  of  as  we 
fancied  we  were  ;  and  that  if  we  are  superior 
to  a  few,  we  are  inferior  to  many.  The  world 
soon  forgets  those  whom  it  ceases  to  use,  and 
the  man  who  is  laid  on  a  shelf,  and  finds  no 
one  coming  to  hurry  him  to  get  down  from  it, 
or  who  is  not  promoted  quite  so  rapidly  as 
he  wishes  to  be,  will  do  well  to  mingle  with 
his  too  hasty  reproaches  of  the  forgetfulness 
of  his  friends  a  little  wholesome  self-examina- 
tion on  his  own  shortcomings. 

Then  our  disappointments  should 
teach  us  patience.  We  are  all  of 
us  in  far  too  great  a  hurry  to  snatch  at  what 
we  wish  for,  instead  of  waiting  quietly,  till  it 
comes  to  us  in  God's  good  time.  Let  the 
fruit  ripen  before  we  gather  it.  Let  us  cheer- 
fully leave  our  affairs  in  the  Lord's  hands. 
In  our  ignorance  of  the  future,  let  us  beware 
13 


194 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


of  acting  as  if  we  could  look  right  into  it. 
Let  us  remember  the  old  proverb,  that  the 
man  who  can  wait,  lives  to  win  the  world. 
Tarry  thou  the  Lord's  leisure.  Be  strongs  and 
He  shall  comfort  thine  hearty  and  put  thou  thy 

trust    in  the  Lord  [Psalm  xxviil.  le  (Prayer-book  version)]. 

Disappointment,  again,  should 

ment  ^^^^  ^^  ^P  ^^  selt-improvement, 

should  make  us  ask  ourselves, 
with  the  unsparing  candor  that  it  is  so  natural 
to  apply  to  our  neighbor's  qualifications,  how 
far  we  are  actually  fitted  for  the  place  or  call- 
ing to  which  we  aspire.  Every  sensible  man 
will  acknowledge  that  to  be  filling  a  post  for 
which  he  is  incompetent,  is  a  pain  and  a  dis- 
grace. Every  conscientious  man,  simply  de- 
siring to  serve  God  where  and  how  he  can 
best  serve  Him,  will  pause  before  he  snatches 
from  another  man,  well  qualified  to  fill  it,  the 
place  in  which  he  himself  could  display  noth- 
ing but  his  own  inferiority.  And  every  hum- 
ble man,  knowing  what  he  can  not  do,  as  well 
as  what  he  can,  will  hasten  to  qualify  himself 
both  to  discharge  efficiently  the  duties  that 
are  likely  to  be  offered  him,  and  to  earn  fairly 
the  reward  that  he  may  expect  to  receive. 


THE  TABLE' OF  GOD. 


195 


There  is  yet  one  other  lesson 
to  learn  from  our  disappointments  -^'  -^^  ^' 
—  a  lesson  in  which  the  young  and  the 
prosperous  are  commonly  so  deficient — that 
of  kindly  sympathy  with  others  under  a  like 
trial.  The  world  is  full  of  disappointed  men 
and  women,  whom  a  little  kindness  has  a 
wonderful  power  to  soothe  and  rouse ;  and  it 
is  no  slight  compensation  for  our  own  morti- 
fications if  they  have  in  some  degree  enabled 
us  to  calm  a  vexed  temper,  to  quiet  a  ruffled 
heart,  to  rouse  from  a  sullen,  perhaps  a  grow- 
ing, apathy  the  crushed  energies  that  have  no 
more  courage  to  work,  and  with  cheerful 
words  of  manly  sense  and  Christian  exhorta- 
tion to  stir  and  animate  the  depressed  heart 
that,  seeing  every  one  prospered  in  turn,  ex- 
cept itself,  interprets  the  neglect  of  man  as 
the  injustice  of  God. 

ASTLY,  let  me  add  some-   ^,      .  ,, 
.     thing    on    the    spirit    in  spirit  in  which 

which  we  should  face  our  dis-  ^^  ^'^^^  disap- 

.  ,     .     pointments, 

appomtments,    and    turn    their 

apparent  evil  into  positive  and  lasting  good. 

And  there  are  two  kinds  of  helps  :  those  which 


196  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

belong  chiefly  to  our  moral  nature,  and  which 
we  are  to  recognize  and  improve  to  the  ut- 
most of  our  power  as  planted  in  us  by  the 
wisdom  of  God ;  those  again,  which  belong 
rather  to  our  new  and  spiritual  nature,  the 
aids  and  graces  of  the  Divine  Comforter,  by 
which  we  are  conformed  to  Christ,  and  recon- 
ciled to  the  Father's  will. 

First,    then,    let    me    say,    that 

Self-respect.  ,  1  j-      -^  j 

•^      ^       a.  man  s  personal  dignity  and  sense 

of  self-respect  should  be  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent him  from  running  about  the  world  to 
proclaim  his  slights  and  injuries ;  should  in- 
duce him  to  maintain  a  calm  and  prudent 
reserve  about  the  supposed  neglect  and  in- 
justice, which,  if  too  much  trumpeted  about 
and  dwelt  upon,  will  soon  make  shrewd 
people  suspect,  that  the  merits,  which  have 
been  so  universally  ignored,  may  have  had  no 
real  existence  at  all.  A  certain  amount  of 
self-consciousness,  whether  of  ability,  or  ex- 
perience, or  usefulness,  or  general  desert,  is 
neither  inconsistent  with  proper  modesty,  nor 
probably  with  the  discriminating  judgment 
of  the  world  at  large.  Any  man  who  has 
conducted  himself  in  life  with  respectability 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


197 


of  character,  and  a  fair  amount  of  professional 
success,  is  quite  justified  in  the  feeling,  ':hat 
if  he  wishes  society  to  help  him,  he  too  can 
help  society.  The  world  is  just  as  much  in 
need  of  fit  men  to  fill  its  posts,  as  fit  men  can 
be  of  posts  to  fill.  There  is  not  so  much 
merit  at  large,  that  it  need  long  go  a  begging 
for  an  opportunity  to  employ  itself.  Wait  a 
little,  and  the  world,  at  whose  door  you  have 
refused  to  knock,  from  a  feeling  of  self-respect, 
will  presently  come  to  knock  at  your  door  to 
offer  you  the  post  it  thinks  you  qualified  for. 
"  The  stone  that  is  fit  for  the  wall  is  never 
left  in  the  road." 

Another  feature  of  mind  in  which 
we  should  encounter  disappointment  ^^^^^^^ 
is  an    impartial   justice  toward   the 
claims   or   merits   of  those   who   have   been 
appointed     to    the     posts    we    also    wished 
for,  but  which  only  one  of  us  could  obtain. 
No  fair  or  good  man  will  feel  more  than   a 
momentary   sense   of  dissppointment   at  be- 
ing beaten  by  his   superior.     It    is   injustice 
that  stings ;    and    if  our   sense   of  equity  is 
satisfied,  the  vexation  itself  is  soon  forgotten. 
Now  life  is  so  vast,  and  the  claims  of  business 


Iq8  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

SO  incessant,  and  the  world  so  large,  and  com- 
petition so  enormous,  that  every  appointment 
at  all  worth  having  instantly  brings  up  to  the 
surface  a  considerable  number  of  sufficiently 
qualified  candidates :  and  while  each  knows 
most  about  his  own  merits,  He  who  rules  the 
world  knows  everything  about  them  all. 
When  we  succeed,  we  think  it  a  mean  feeling 
in  our  neighbor  to  grudge  us  our  success; 
when  we  fail,  let  us  say  ''  God  speed  "  to  him, 
and  mean  it.  If  mere  favoritism  has  balked 
us,  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  bear  it 
manfully ;  if  all  is  fair  and  right,  it  is  a  conso- 
lation to  be  beaten  in  the  race  by  the  man 
who  has  run  best  in  it,  or,  at  least,  equally 
well  with  ourselves. 

Again,  in  all  these  things  let 
Sins'le-mmded-         ,       ,i  ,      ^ii^i      c 

^^j*  us  try  to  be  actuated  by  the  far 

too  rare  feeling  of  single-mind- 
edness  for  the  general  welfare ;  in  St.  Paul's 
language,  let  us  look  not  every  man  on  his  own 
things^  hut  every  man  also  on  the  tJmigs  of 
others  i^\^\\.n.^-\.  Circumstances  are,  no  doubt, 
much  complicated  by  the  imperious  consider- 
ations of  health,  means,  family,  and  personal 
qualifications.      Of  course,    all   these   things 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


199 


must  be  duly  weighed,  and  allowed  their  fair 
share  in  any  decision  that  is  come  to  ;  only 
they  must  not  be  allowed  to  have  moj'e  than 
their  fair  share,  as  they  too  often  have.  Surely 
the  first  thing  a  conscientious  man  ought  to 
try  to  satisfy  himself  about  in  deciding  on  a 
place  to  live  in,  or  a  post  to  fulfill,  is  not,  Is 
this  the  place  where  I  can  be  most  comforta- 
ble, or  where  my  services  will  be  best  remu- 
nerated, or  where  there  will  be  more  ease  and 
less  work?  but,  Is  this  the  place  where  I  can 
best  glorify  my  Master,  and  use  the  gifts  that 
He  has  intrusted  to  my  keeping,  and  where, 
in  the  day  that  He  comes  to  take  account  of 
His  servants,  I  shall  feel  thankful  to  have 
been  willing  to  be  ?  Seeking  first  His  king- 
dom and  righteousness,  I  shall  have  all  other 
things  added  to  me ;  but  if  I  put  myself  first 
and  His  kingdom  second,  if  I  postpone  His 
glory  and  His  work  to  my  own  personal  and 
temporal  interests,  I  may  find  to  my  sorrow 
ten  years  hence,  that  I  have  been  succumbing 
to  temptation  instead  of  walking  in  the  path 
divinely  offered  to  me,  and  that  instead  of 
obeying  my  Master,  I  have  been  gratifying 
myself. 


200  ^^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

But  there  are   also  spiritual 
pzri  ua     eps.  j^^jp^  ^^^  ^j^jg  great  conflict  with 

self  and  pride — the  joy  of  faith,  the  patience 
of  hope,  and  the  comfort  of  love. 

First,  the  joy  of  faith,  that  most 
Faith.  elevating  and  ennobhng  of  all  hu- 
man virtues  and  Divine  graces,  whereby 
Job  was  enabled  to  say  at  the  crisis  of  his 
overwhelming  troubles.  Though  He  slay  me, 
yet  will  I  trust  in  Him  [Job  xiii.  15] ;  whereby 
Habakkuk  could  say.  Although  the  fig-tree 
shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the 
vines  ;  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the 
fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut 
off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in 
the  stalls  ;  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will 
joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation  [Hab.  iii.  17,  is].  Faith 
strengthens  us,  because  it  lays  hold  of  the 
power  of  God,  and  makes  it  our  very  own. 
Faith  ennobles  us,  for  it  brings  Christ  to  dwell 
in  our  hearts,  thereby  making  us  to  entertain 
Him  and  Him  to  entertain  us.  One  glimpse 
of  His  glory  in  an  instant  puts  the  world 
under  our  feet.  One  throb  of  the  love  that 
passeth  knowledge  makes  us  hot  with  shame, 
that  we  could  ever  doubt  Him  for  a  moment. 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD.  20 1 

Faith  gladdens  us,  for  it  lifts  us  up  above  the 
clouds  into  the  sunshine,  it  transports  us  from 
a  world  of  shadows  into  the  world  of  realities. 
From  men,  who  think  they  rule  the  world,  it 
takes  us  to  God,  who  really  rules  it.  We 
doubt  no  longer,  we  murmur  no  longer,  when 
we  see  the  Lord  in  His  Holy  Place  sitting 
above  the  water-floods,  the  Head  of  His 
Church,  the  Shepherd  of  His  Flock,  the  King 
forever. 

But  because  we  believe,  we  hope ; 
because  we  trust,  we  wait ;  and  the  ^  ' 
joy  of  faith  enables  us  for  the  patience  of  hope, 
Monod  has  said,  that  man  is  a  creature  with  a 
heart  to  give  away.  An  equally  just  defini- 
tion might  describe  him  as  a  creature  who  is 
always  wishing  for  something,  and  hoping  to 
attain  it.  We  are  saved  by  hope  [R0m.viii.2i];  and 
if  faith  makes  us  glad,  hope  makes  us  patient. 
As  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  latter  rain, 
and  the  hireling  for  the  shadows,  and  he  that 
is  in  misery  for  death,  and  all  creation  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God,  so  the  Chris- 
tian, not  less  man  because  Christian,  waits 
quietly,  hopes  cheerfully  for  the  goodness  of 
God.     He  trusts  God's  wisdom,  that  He  will 


202  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIS  T. 

choose  wisely;  and  His  love,  that  He  will 
bestow  bountifully ;  and  His  righteousness, 
that  He  will  distribute  justly.  If  it  is  youi 
turn  to-day,  it  will  be  mine  to-morrow.  The 
earth  is  the  Lord's;  and  the  exact  spot  on  it 
that  He  has  chosen  for  each  of  His  people, 
He  will  surely  give  in  His  own  good  time. 
For  there  is  something  in  store  for  all  of  us, 
much  better,  and  fitter,  and  richer  than  we 
could  ever  have  chosen  for  ourselves ;  and  He, 
who  looks  down  on  us  from  a  far  higher  eleva- 
tion than  we  can,  who  knows  what  each  can 
do,  and  what  each  would  be  happy  with,  far 
more  exactly  than  any  one  else,  weighs  in 
most  accurate  balances,  the  merits  and  capa- 
bilities of  all  His  servants,  and  in  the  fullness 
of  time  sends  us  where  He  means  us  to  be. 

"  Thou  cam'st  not  to  thy  place  by  accident, 
It  is  the  very  place  God  meant  for  thee  ; 
And  shouldst  thou  there  small  scope  for  action  see, 
Do  not  for  this  give  room  to  discontent."* 


And    there    is   the    comfort    of  love. 
All  of  us  now  and  then  are  apt  to  be 


*  Trench. 


THE  TABLE  OF  GOD. 


203 


discontented,  and  morbid,  and  fretful ;  and 
because  we  do  not  get  what  we  want  the  mo- 
ment we  want  it,  we  murmur  at  man,  and  so 
complain  of  God.  Possibly,  however,  there 
may  be  a  purpose  of  mercy  deep  in  God's 
heart  toward  us,  in  thus  teaching  us  not  to 
look  for  our  help  and  consolation  from  any 
earthly  instrument,  however  true  in  friend- 
ship, wise  in  counsel,  strong  in  influence,  or 
loving  in  nature.  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd, 
therefore  can  I  lack  nothing.  Really  to  feel 
God's  love  to  us,  and  our  love  to  Him,  is  the 
very  highest  blessedness  of  which  the  human 
soul  is  capable.  There  is  a  lavishness  in  all 
true  love,  which  only  those  who  truly  love  can 
understand.  And  when  God  loves  us.  His 
heart  goes  out  toward  us,  and  with  His  heart 
all  that  He  can  bestow.  All  the  resources  of 
His  power,  all  the  counsels  of  His  wisdom,  all 
the  preciousness  of  His  promises,  all  the  gifts 
of  His  Spirit,  are  at  our  disposal,  if  only  our 
hearts  are  open  to  receive  them  in  the  day  of 
His  power.  To  know  and  believe  the  love 
God  hath  to  us — here,  in  a  single  sentence,  is 
the  beginning  of  Christian  life,  the  history  of 
Christian  experience,  the  fullness  of  Christian 


204 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


joy.  That  God  should  love  me,  and  yet  re- 
fuse me  anything  for  my  good,  is  as  utterly 
impossible  as  that  He  should  cease  to  be 
God.  To  suppose  that  Christ  can  have  suf- 
fered for  me,  and  yet  while  laying  on  me  His 
cross  deny  me  the  needful  grace  to  carry  it 
after  Him ;  sooner  than  think  this,  let  us 
boldly  say  at  once,  that  He  has  died  in  vain  ! 


VL 

ETERNAL    LIFE. 


'SURELY  GOODNESS  AND  MERCY  SHALL  FOLLOW  ME  ALL  THE  DAYS  Of 
MY  LIFE  :  AND  I  WILL  DWELL  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  LORD  FOR- 
EVER." 

"Z.^  Chrdtien  dclaire  sur  la  resurrection  de  noire 
Sauveur  jouit  de  r assurance  de  son  salut :  il 
en  est  aussi  sHr^  qu'il  est  sHr  que  ydsus  Christ  est 
ressuscite :  et  pour  le  /aire  douter  de  son  espd- 
rance  diernelle^  il  faudrait  contntencer  par  le 
/aire  douter  que  Jdsus  Christ  est  ressuscitd  d£S 
morts.''* — Adolphe  Monod. 


HANKFULNESSisone   ^,     ,,  , 
_      ,  .         1  hankf Illness, 

of   the    most    attractive 

qualities  of  the  Christian  character. 
While  it  invigorates  and  animates  ourselves, 
it  glorifies  God,  and  it  edifies  our  neighbor. 
No  doubt  it  has  much  to  do  with  natural 
temperament,  sound  health,  sufficient  means, 
and  congenial  employment.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  sometimes  perfectly  independent  of  these 

(205) 


2o6  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

accidental  causes;  and  he  who  in  poverty, 
or  sickness,  or  soHtude,  can  preserve  a 
merry  heart  and  a  cheerful  countenance  is 
a  benefactor  to  society,  a  testimony  to  his 
God,  and  the  best  of  all  possible  friends  to 
himself. 

But  if  thankfulness  is  an  attractive  quality 
of  the  Christian  character,  it  ought  also, 
within  certain  limits  and  with  certain  excep- 
tions, to  be  a  universal  one.  Clouds  will 
sometimes  prevent  our  seeing  the  sunshine ; 
and  every  one  now  and  then  is  tempted  to 
exclaim,  out  of  a  depressed  heart,  O  my  God, 
my  soul  is  cast  down  within  me  [ps  xiu.ej.  Still 
it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  prevailing 
temper  of  a  truly  Christian  mind  is  a  lively 
sense  of  the  Divine  goodness ;  and  at  the 
end  of  life,  as  the  departing  pilgrim  looks 
back  on  the  way  by  which  the  Lord  his  God 
has  led  him  through  the  wilderness,  the  one 
exclamation  of  wondering  gladness  is,  "  How 
good  God  has  been  to  me!"  the  one  convic- 
tion of  assured  faith  is,  "  He  will  never  change. 
He  will  continue  to  love  me  to  the  end." 

But  why  is  this  so  ?     What  is  it  that  throws 
this  steady  and  sunny  light  both  on  past  and 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


207 


on  future — that  eases  burdens  heavy  enough 
to  crush  other  men — that  interprets  all  God's 
dealings,  even  the  hardest  and  the  darkest, 
under  the  unfailing  purpose  of  eternal  love? 
It  is  the  blessed  knowledge  of  what  God 
has  been,  is,  and  will  be,  to  us ;  it  is  the  know- 
ing in  whom  we  have  believed,  and  that  He 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  we  have  committed 
unto  Him  against  that  day ;  it  is  the  sanctify- 
ing presence  of  the  Indwelling  Comforter ;  in 
a  word,  it  is  the  consciousness  of  possessing 
eternal  life,  through  abiding  in  the  Father  and 
the  Son. 

That  we  have  eternal  life  now 

,1  1      r  1  •     -^     Eternal  life  to 

m  a  true,  though  of  course  limit-  be  enjoyed  now. 

ed,  degree,  can  be  proved  from 
many  passages  of  Scripture.  There  are  our 
Lord's  words,  when,  about  the  death  of  Laza- 
rus, He  said  to  Mary,  He  that  liveth  and  believ- 
eth  m  me  shall  never  die  [John  xi. 26];  and  again,, 
on  the  eve  of  His  own  passion,  when,  in 
prayer  to  His  Father,  He  said.  This  is  life 
eternal^  that  they  inight  know  Thee  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent 
[John  xvii.  3].  There  are  St.  Paul's  words.  Set  your 
affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 


2o8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST, 

earth.  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God \co\.m.\,2-\.  There  are  St. 
John's  words,  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life ; 
and  he  that  hath  7iot  the  Son  of  God  hath  not 
/?/>  [ijohn V.  12].  The  believing  soul,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  same  apostle,  has  already- 
passed  from  death  unto  life  through  the 
power  of  the  regenerating  Spirit,  though  that 
life  can  not  be  completed  or  enjoyed  in  the 
full  fruition  of  its  blessedness  until,  in  the  res- 
urrection of  the  body,  we  enter  on  the  entire 
and  incorruptible  immortality  of  our  whole 
being. 

No  great  ingenuity  is  required  to  trace,  all 
through  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  (nay,  it  might 
almost  be  said,  through  each  separate  verse 
of  it)  some  distinct  truth  about  this  eternal 
life.  There  is  the  substance  of  it  in  our  per- 
sonal spiritual  union  with  the  Lord  Jesus. 
The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  belonging  to  me, 
and  I  to  Him ;  He  dwelling  in  me,  and  I  in 
Him.  The  manifestation  of  this  life  is  in  the 
personal  holiness  of  the  believer,  whom  the 
Good  Shepherd  ever  strives  to  lead  on  into 
the  green  pastures  and  still  waters  of  an  ever 
riper  knowledge  and  fuller  image  of  Himself. 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  209 

Would  we  know  how  to  ascertain  if  this 
eternal  life  is  ours  or  not,  the  answer  will  not 
be  found  in  sudden  emotions  of  feeling, 
however  animating  they  may  be  ;  nor  in  a 
clear  and  consistent  theological  system,  blessed 
as  it  is  for  those  who  have  attained  it ;  nor  in 
aptness  of  controversy,  useful  as  it  sometimes 
is  in  contending  for  the  truth ;  nor  in  an  un- 
healthy eagerness  about  means  of  grace,  which, 
though  they  are  channels  of  Christ's  presence, 
are  not  Christ  Himself; — but  in  a  life  hidden 
with  Christ  in  God,  yet  manifesting  itself 
daily  by  a  continual  bringing  forth  of  the  fruits 
of  the  Spirit.  The  discipline  of  it  is  in  the 
wisely  alternating  visitations  of  joy  and  sor- 
row according  to  the  needs  and  circumstances 
of  each  individual  soul. 

For  this  eternal  life  extends  its  purifying 
and  exalting  influence  over  the  entire  being 
of  man.  It  lays  hold  of  his  understanding, 
enabling  it  rightly  to  appreciate  and  humbly 
receive  the  great  mysteries  of  the  Gospel,  in 
the  Father's  eternal  purpose,  and  in  the  aton- 
ing blood  of  the  incarnate  Son,  and  the  re- 
generating grace  of  the  Spirit.  It  seizes  the 
heart,  and  strikes  its  roots  all  down  it  and 
14 


210  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

through  it,  engaging  and  occupying  the  affec- 
tions for  God  himself,  whose  is  the  first  and 
rightful  claim.  The  conscience  it  purges/rc?;?/ 
dead  works  to  serve  tJie  living  God  [Hob.  ix.  h], 
giving  it  rest  and  peace  through  the  precious 
blood  that  can  alone  wash  out  sin.  The  will  it 
subdues  into  captivity  to  God's  will,  not  by 
taking  it  away,  nor  by  iinmersing  it  in  God's, 
as  some  mystics  have  delighted  to  say,  but  by 
training  and  educating  it  into  a  free  and  com- 
plete and  cheerful  and  intelligent  obedience. 
And  while  over  the  entire  moral  and  spiritual 
being  of  man  it  sheds  its  blessed  and  increas- 
ing influence,  it  makes  our  very  mortal  bodies, 
through  the  operations  of  our  wills  and  affec- 
tions, servants  and  instruments  of  righteous- 
ness unto  God. 

But  what  is  the  method  of  this  ?  The 
shedding  forth  of  the  love  of  God  into  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  observe  the 
result  in  David's  mind  of  this  spirit  of  thank- 
fulness, and  the  unfailing  evidence  of  eternal 

^  life    in    the    soul.       It    is    devout- 

Devoutness.  t       -n    i       u    -       i      ,  /• 

ness.     /  will  dwell  in  the  house  of 

the  Lord  forever.     God's   goodness   did   not 

harden  him  into  indifference,  nor  produce  in 


E  TERNAL  LIFE.  2 1 1 

him  a  sense  of  independence  of  God  or  of 
confidence  in  his  own  prosperity.  Rather  it 
made  him  feel  more  than  ever  his  need  of 
God,  and  that  God  was  his  only  sufficient 
and  abiding  portion  ;  that  the  nearer  he  could 
live  to  Him,  the  more  often  he  could  worship 
Him  ;  the  more  he  could  hear  of  His  truth 
and  receive  of  His  grace,  the  better  it  must 
be  for  him,  both  here  and  hereafter.  Nor  is 
this  the  solitary  expression  of  his  feeling, 
since  again  and  again  in  his  psalms — such  as 
the  27th,  the  42d,  and  the  84th — do  we  find 
the  same. 

Now,  it  is  deeply  important  for  us  to  in- 
quire very  seriously  what  are  the  chief  aids  to 
devoutness  among  Christian  people,  and  how 
we  may  best  remove  the  obstacles  and  hin- 
drances to  it  wherever  such  are  found  to  exist. 


HE  meaning  of  devoutness  is 
personal  adoring  filial  love  f^Ztn^f 
to  God  the  Father,  as  revealed  in 
His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not,  in  the  usual 
acceptation  of  the  word,  the  invariable  accom- 
paniment of  living  faith  in  the  soul ;  for  there 
are  many  sincere  and  excellent  persons,  walk 


212  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ing  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  light  of  con- 
science, of  whom  to  speak  as  devout  would 
be  to  describe  them  inaccurately,  if  not  alto- 
gether untruly.  It  is  by  no  means  always 
found  in  company  with  a  great  amount  of 
accurate  doctrinal  knowledge ;  for  it  was 
when  Mary  Magdalene  was  weeping  over  her 
lost  Lord,  whom  she  thought  to  be  stolen  and 
could  not  believe  to  be  risen,  that  her  Saviour, 
recognizing  her  devoutness,  rewarded  it  by 
the  revelation  of  Himself.  It  may  be  called 
the  enthusiasm  of  personal  religion,  springing 
from  a  fervent  and  affectionate  nature,  going 
out  after  God,  and  cleaving  to  Him  and  de- 
lighting in  Him,  not  so  much  for  what  He 
gives  as  for  what  He  is  ;  prizing  above  all  His 
gifts  the  constant  sense  of  His  sanctifying 
presence,  desiring  above  all  His  graces  the 
power  of  loving  Him  more  as  He  deserves. 
In  David's  own  words,  it  is  thirst  for  God,  for 
the  living  God,  the  longing  to  go  and  appear 
before  God  ;  it  is  also  the  deep  unutterable 
adoration  of  a  soul  that  throbs  and  burns 
with  the  very  fire  of  heaven,  the  emotion  of  a 
heart  that  would  multiply  itself  a  hundred 
fold  only  to  give  all  to  Him. 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  213 

**  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  Thee 
With  sweetness  fills  the  breast ; 
But  sweeter  far  Thy  face  to  see, 
And  in  Thy  presence  rest. 

"  Tongue  never  spake,  ear  never  heard, 
Never  from  heart  o'erflow'd 
A  dearer  name,  a  sweeter  word, 
Than  Jesus,  Son  of  God." 


If  devoutness  is  rare,  so  much 

rarer  than  it  ought  to  be,  the    ^^y.^'^out- 
^  '  ness  zs  so  rare^ 

reason  is  not  hard  to  find.   For  we 

love  our  God  with  such  a  thin,  feeble,  meagre, 
circumspect  love,  not  in  the  least  because  He 
denies  us  the  power  of  loving  Him,  or  refuses 
to  pour  into  our  heart  His  love  to  us  ;  but 
partly  because  we  do  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciate the  duty  and  the  blessedness  of  loving 
Him  ;  partly  because  we  hinder  the  outcom- 
ing  of  His  love  to  us,  and  the  upgoing  of  our 
love  to  Him,  by  sloth  or  sin  ;  partly,  also,  be- 
cause we  do  not  fulfill  the  conditions,  and  use 
with  such  languor  and  indifference  the  aids  and 
helps  by  which  alone  love  to  God  can  burn  in 
the  soul  with  a  steady  and  bright  flame. 
If  that  considerable  number  of  professing 


214 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


Christians  who  are  continually  lamenting 
their  want  of  love  to  Christ  and  God,  would 
really  and  thoroughly  search  their  hearts 
about  it,  some  of  them  might  discover  that 
they  have  already  as  much  of  God's  love  as 
they  have  any  right  to  expect ;  and  that  the 
amount  which  they  feel  to  possess,  whether 
of  a  sense  of  His  love  to  them,  or  theirs  to 
Him,  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  exact  propor- 
tion to  their  real  efforts  after  it.  To  be  safe^ 
is  practically  the  end  and  aim  with  which  tens 
of  thousands  of  professing  Christians  sit  down 
in  an  ignoble  contentedness.  Not  to  be  pun- 
ished for  sin,  not  to  be  shut  out  of  heaven, 
not  to  be  refused  the  comfortable  persuasion 
of  peace  with  God,  not  to  be  left  knocking  at 
the  door  of  God's  mercy  uncertain  if  we  shall 
ever  be  let  in : — this  is  what  too  many  people 
look  upon  as  the  goal  of  the  Christian's  race, 
and  the  substance  of  his  assurance,  and  the 
reward  of  his  faith,  and  the  pledge  of  his  vic- 
tory. Whereas  it  is  but  the  starting-point, 
and  not  the  conclusion  ;  the  earnest,  but  not 
the  fulfillment,  of  his  salvation.  To  be  de- 
livered from  sin,  in  the  love  and  power  of  it; 
is  really  of  far  more  importance,  both  for  God 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  21C 

and  us,  than  that  we  should  be  set  free  from 
the  fear  of  hell,  essential  as  that  is  to  the  lib- 
erty and  cheerfulness  of  our  service  ;  and  to 
be  made  fit  for  heaven,  is  the  only  possible 
condition  on  which  we  could  enjoy  its  blessed- 
ness, or  mix  in  its  society,  or  do  its  works,  or 
adore  its  Lord.  It  is  no  doubt  a  most  blessed 
thing  to  feel  safe  ;  yet  certainly  it  is  neither 
the  loftiest  nor  the  most  elevating  sentiment 
even  of  human  nature  :  and  to  rest  content 
with  our  sense  of  safety,  comparatively  indif- 
ferent to  the  glory  or  the  kingdom  of  Him 
who  has  saved  us,  is  to  fall  very  short  indeed 
of  our  Redeemer's  purpose  for  us,  is  to  know 
nothing  of  the  spirit  of  the  apostle,  whose  one 
constraining  motive,  both  of  gratitude  and 
obedience,  was  love  to  Him  who  died  and 
rose  again. 

So  many  of  us  have  such  a 

miserably  low  standard  !    We   Th^  ^t^ndard  of 

^  Lhrishajis  too  mu. 

hardly   care    for   God's   love, 

except  for  the  mental  excitement  of  feeling 
it.  We  hardly  care  for  His  glory,  except  just 
so  far  as  our  personal  instrumentality  is  con- 
cerned in  advancing  it.  We  hardly  care  for 
His  presence,  save  when  no  other  consolations 


2i6  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

are  forthcoming.  Nine  out  of  every  ten  hu- 
man beings  are  naturally  disposed  to  be  in- 
tensely idle  ;  and  this  idleness  creeps  over 
the  renewed  nature,  and  lulls  it  into  drowsi 
ness  and  sloth.  We  are  often  too  idle  for  the 
effort  of  sustained  prayer.  We  are  often  too 
idle,  steadily  and  thoughtfully,  to  study  our 
Bibles.  We  are  often  too  idle  to  interest  our- 
selves in  bearing  the  burdens  or  healing  the 
sorrows  of  those  around  us.  We  are  often 
too  idle  for  anything  much  more  than  listen- 
ing to  rousing  sermons,  and  occasionally  at- 
tending a  meeting  for  missions,  and — being 
**  scarcely  saved."  Unbelief  is  at  the  root  of 
it.  If  we  really  believed  that  God,  of,  and  by, 
and  in  Himself,  could  make  us  happy  ;  if  we 
could  learn  to  trust  Him,  and  be  content  with 
Him,  apart  from  his  gifts,  in  the  deep  convic- 
tion that  He  is  more  and  better  than  them 
all  ;  if,  in  our  jealousy  for  His  honor,  and  in 
our  appreciation  of  His  character,  and  in  our 
sympathy  with  His  purposes,  and  in  our  grat- 
itude for  His  cross,  we  could  come  to  have 
more  of  His  mind  about  sin,  more  to  under- 
stand His  intense  hatred  and  horror  of  it, 
more,  with  'lim,  to  pity  and  yearn  over  the 


E  TERNAL  LIFE. 


217 


lost,  more  to  perceive  and  know  that  the  very 
greatest  loss  a  human  being  can  suffer  is  the 
loss  of  His  image  and  presence,  I  do  think  we 
should  more  cheerfully  and  readily  cast  our- 
selves into  His  arms,  and  yield  ourselves  to 
His  purposes  ;  we  should  say  more  continu- 
ally, more  fervently,  more  honestly,  than 
most  of  us  can  say  now,  "  Do  what  Thou 
wilt  with  me,  only  love  me  :  and  give  me  the 
power  of  loving  Thee  in  return  !  " 


^.^ 


HE  conditions  of  devout- 

r  1     •  1    Conditio7ts  of  de- 

ness  are  few,  obvious,  and  ^outness. 

simple.    First,  if  God  is  to  come 

to  fill  the  heart  with  His  sweetness  and  His 

glory,  He  must  have  it  all  to    ^ 

°-. .         1  -      1  T  T  -r.      Entire  self-snr- 

Himself  when   He  comes.      JBy  render. 

which  I  do  not  mean  that  He 

is  jealous  of  the  rightful   and   natural   love, 

which  we  give  to,  and  claim  from,  each  other. 

He  that  loveth  7tot  his  brother  zvhom  he  hath 

''een^  how  can  he  love  God  zvhom  he  hath  not 

seen  ?    [I  J'^hn  iv.  20J.     Love  to  man   is  often  the 

shortest  road  to  the  love  of  God.     Nor  again, 

that  He  expects  or  demands  perfection  while 

we  are  here.     But   Pie  does  expect,  and  wc 


2i8  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

must  give  Him,  sincerity  of  purpose  in  seek- 
ing Him,  resoluteness  of  will  in  following 
Him,  perseverance  of  effort  in  surrendering 
to  Him  all  we  have,  and  all  we  are.  Half- 
heartedness  in  religion  is  the  true  secret  of 
the  want  of  zeal  and  power  in  the  Church  of 
Christ ;  and  the  famous  French  sarcasm  is 
sometimes  almost  as  true  of  sincere,  as  of 
merely  nominal,  Christians,  "  that  they  have 
just  religion  enough  to  make  them  miserable, 
but  not  enough  to  make  them  happy." 

Another  absolutely  essential  condition  of 
devoutness  is  the  entire,  and  unsparing,  and 

incessant  conflict  with  indwell- 
Mortification  of  .  .       ,  .         ,        , 

^^y^     -^  •'    mg  sm,  however  mveterate,  or 

pleasant,  or  secret  from  men,  or 
indulgently  treated  by  the  world.  So  long  as 
we  make  a  truce  with  any  sin  whatever,  and 
choose  to  think  about  it,  either  that  it  is  so 
small  it  does  not  signify,  or  so  hidden  that  no 
one  knows  of  it,  or  so  powerful  that  v/e  can 
not  overcome  it,  just  so  long  are  we  with  one 
side  of  our  voice  inviting  God  to  come  to  us, 
and  with  the  other  side  bidding  Him  keep 
away.  God  is  a  holy  God  ;  and  if  His  serv- 
ants can  consent,  knowingly  and  persevering- 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


2IQ 


y,  to  nurse  in  their  hearts  such  sins  as  covet- 
ousness  or  pride,  or  vanity,  or  envy,  or  evil 
and  censorious  speaking,  they  must  take  tlie 
consequences.  Divine  grace  has  a  marvelous 
vitality,  and  it  takes  a  great  deal  of  pains 
quite  to  extinguish  it.  Still  it  is  easy  enough 
to  stunt  its  growth  ;  and  if  we  are  not  watch- 
ful over  ourselves,  instead  of  being  epistles, 
to  the  Church  and  the  world,  of  God's  Divine 
power,  in  using  us  as  instruments  of  right- 
eousness, we  shall  be  epistles,  equally  well 
known  and  well  read,  of  the  power  of  sin  to 
quench  and  smother  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  of 
the  fatal  certainty  with  which  self-indulgence 
of  any  kind  will,  sooner  or  later,  take  its  re- 
venge on  us. 

Another  condition  of  devout- 
ness  is  active  and  continual  oc-    Q^^f"  •' 

cupation  in  the  Lord's  service. 
What  exercise  does  for  the  body,  usefulness 
does  for  the  soul,  in  quickening  the  circula- 
tion through  the  entire  system,  and  in  giving 
a  healthy  play  to  the  organs  and  faculties  of 
our  being.  Such  occupation  may  be  confined 
to  the  four  walls  of  a  house.  It  is  not  essen- 
tial to  it  that  it  should  be  prominent,  or  va- 


Z20  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ried,  or  arduous,  or,  indeed,  of  any  special 
sort  or  kind  whatever.  All  that  is  necessary 
is,  that  each  Christian  person  should  feel  him- 
self a  laborer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  and 
should  be  doing  with  humility  and  cheerful- 
ness the  task  the  Lord  gives  him  to  do,  what- 
ever and  wherever  it  may  be.  This  alone 
(unless  sickness  or  other  cause  of  inability 
prevent  it)  can  keep  the  heart  awake,  the  will 
obedient,  the  mind  ready,  the  conscience  pure. 
If  it  involve  self-denial,  so  much  the  better. 
Nay,  the  chances  are,  that  if  there  is  no  self- 
denial  about  it,  we  are  pleasing  ourselves,  in- 
stead of  pleasing  Christ.  Some  people  are  so 
constituted,  that  they  would  find  it  harder  to 
overcome  natural  diffidence  in  visiting  the 
sick,  or  even  in  teaching  a  class  of  children, 
than  to  eat  dry  bread  for  a  year.  But  to 
master  self  is  the  meaning  of  sanctification  ; 
and  the  sure  and  certain  reward  of  following 
our  Saviour  wherever  He  leads  us,  is  that  we 
are  thereby  strengthened  for  the  daily  con- 
flict with  sloth  and  selfishness  in  our  own 
hearts;  and  thus  in  ministering  to  others  we 
are  unconsciously  benefiting  ourselves. 

Once  more :  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  221 

maintain  the  heart  in  a  condition  of  real  de- 

voutness  without  a  steady  and 

frequent  use  of  those  means  of  ^^^  ^f  ^^[^ 
^  .  means  of  grace. 

grace  ordained  and  provided  for 

us  by  a  higher  wisdom  than  our  own,  and  to 

neglect  which  is  both  presumption  and  folly. 

[RST  and  foremost  of  these  is 
prayer — secret,  frequent,  sus-  ^^y^^- 
tained,  and  fervent  prayer — prayer  not  only 
for  the  supply  of  needs,  or  for  the  sense  of 
pardon,  but  for  close  spiritual  communion 
with  the  Lord  of  our  spirit,  in  at  least  an 
effort  after  that  adoring  and  holy  praise  which 
is  the  substance  of  the  worship  in  heaven.  I 
know  how  hard  prayer  is  almost  at  all  times ; 
how  glad  we  sometimes  feel  to  be  able  to  say 
anything ;  that  our  best  prayers  ever  fall 
short  of  our  true  aspirations ;  that  our  worst 
prayers  are  often  so  cold,  so  feeble,  so  poor, 
so  wandering,  they  hardly  deserve  to  be  called 
prayers  at  all.  And  it  is  the  humbling  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  inadequacy  and  short- 
comings of  his  own  prayers,  that  may  well 
make  a  Christian  writer  pause,  before  he  raises 
a   standard    that  he   himself   so   very  inade- 


222  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

quately  reaches  unto,  as  well  as  shrink  froiTi 
making  a  heart  sad,  which  God  would  not 
make  sad,  by  inviting  prayer,  which  to  many  '' 
would  seem  so  distant  and  so  impracticable, 
as  only  to  reduce  them  to  despair.  Yet  prayer 
is  a  habit ;  and  the  more  we  pray,  the  better 
we  shall  pray;  and  the  highest  mountain  can 
be  climbed  by  steady,  patient  walking ;  and 
if  we  never  set  a  mark  before  us,  to  aim  at 
and  try  for,  we  may  soon  discover  that  noth- 
ing is  so  perilous  to  the  soul's  life  as  content 
edly  sitting  still.  Sometimes,  to  go  to  be 
alone  with  God  and  Christ  in  the  fellowship 
of  the  Spirit,  just  for  the  joy  and  blessedness 
of  it ;  to  open,  with  reverent  yet  eager  hands, 
the  door  into  the  presence-chamber  of  the 
great  King,  and  then  to  fall  down  before  Him, 
it  may  be,  in  silent  adoration  ;  our  very  atti- 
tude an  act  of  homage,  our  merely  being 
there,  through  the  motive  that  prompts  it, 
being  the  testimony  of  our  souTs  love ;  to 
have  our  set  day-hours  of  close  communion, 
with  which  no  other  friends  shall  interfere, 
and  which  no  other  occupations  may  inter- 
rupt ;  to  which  we  learn  to  look  forward  with 
a  living  gladness  ;  on  which  we  look  back  with 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


223 


satisfaction  and  peace ;  this  indeed  is  prayer, 
for  its  own  sake,  for  God's  sake,  for  our  friends' 
sake,  for  tL«  Church's  sake,  for  our  work's 
sake  ;  prayer  which  we  do  not  hurry  through, 
to  still  the  conscience,  but  which  (other  things 
permitting)  we  can  even  linger  over  to  satisfy 
the  heart.  Oh,  if  we  Christians,  who  talk  so 
much  about  the  privilege  and  blessedness  of 
prayer,  would  try  to  avail  ourselves  of  it  more 
than  we  do,  how  we  should  reflect  on  the 
world  all  around  us  the  glory,  as  it  streams 
on  us  from  the  face  of  the  incarnate  Mediator  ! 
What  a  power  we  should  become  to  rebuke 
sin,  and  proclaim  pardon,  and  promise  liberty, 
and  offer  peace,  through  our  continually  lay- 
ing hold  on  the  hem  of  the  garment  of  our 
glorified  Lord  ! 

There  must  also  be  a  full   and 
frequent  study  of  God's  holy  Word.  ^/^/^ 
In   Holy  Scripture,  as  Christ  Him- 
self has  said,  we  have  eternal  life.     He  is  the 
Living  Word  of  God  :  the  Bible  is  the  written 
word.      There  are  some  persons  who,  without 
the  special  excuse  of  but  little  leisure,  go  so 
far  as  to  say  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  book 
that  Christians  ought  to  study,  other  books 


224  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

involving  but  a  waste  of  time.  It  ma}^  be 
sufficient  to  reply,  that  to  impose  this  as  a 
duty  on  all  men  alike  is  certainly  to  go  be- 
yond the  letter  of  Scripture  itself;  that  it  is 
hardly  consistent  with  the  reasonable  and 
justifiable  cultivation  of  the  various  mental 
gifts  and  faculties  with  which  God  has  en- 
dowed us,  meaning  us  to  use  them,  and  that 
we  are  not  particularly  encouraged  to  it  by 
any  special  largeness  of  mental  vision  or 
Christian  charity  in  the  few  individuals  who 
observe  this  rule  themselves.  It  does  not, 
however,  follow  that  because  the  Bible  is  not 
the  only  book  for  Christians  to  study,  that 
they  might  not  study  it  much  more  than  they 
do,  and  with  much  more  pains,  and  diligence, 
and  prayer.  When  we  open  our  Bibles,  quite 
as  much  as  when  we  fall  on  our  knees,  we 
place  ourselves  in  God's  immediate  presence  ; 
and  we  should  read  His  Word  both  in  the 
sense  of  listening  to  His  voice,  and  with  the 
object  of  discovering  His  will.  It  is  quite 
impossible  for  any  Christian  whatever  to  grow 
in  the  love  of  God  without  growing  in  the 
knowledge  of  Him.  Let  any  one  who  is 
doubtful   about    it   read   the   Epistles  of  St 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


225 


Paul's  first  imprisonment,  and  his  doubts  will 
soon  disappear.  But  how  can  we  grow  in  the 
knowledge  of  God  without  being  much  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible  ?  For,  first,  it  is  the  one 
object  of  the  Bible  to  teach  us  the  original 
and  authoritative  truth  of  God  ;  and  then  we 
never  appreciate  truth  so  vividly,  or  receive 
it  so  gladly,  or  detain  it  so  tenaciously,  or 
impart  it  so  intelligently,  as  when  we  have 
discovered  it  for  ourselves  by  our  own  thought 
and  effort.  One  hour's  devotional  study  of 
Scripture  will  often  do  more  than  a  dozen 
sermons  to  stir  up  in  our  hearts  the  love  of 
God.  There  are  many  external  proofs  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible.  Christ's  own  teach- 
ing, the  doctrine  of  His  apostles,  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  Jews,  the  universal  consent  of 
the  Christian  Church  of  all  times,  place  the 
Divine  authority  of  both  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments on  a  foundation  which  can  not  be 
moved.  To  let  go  the  blessed  truth  of  the 
plenary  inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture,  is  to 
lose  the  sheet  anchor  of  Revelation,  and  to 
drift  away  toward  the  dark  and  restless  sea 
of  human  speculation,  and  science,  falsely  so 
c^//?^  [1  Tim.  VI.  20].  But  there  is  internal  as  well 
IS 


226  THE  PRESENCE  OE  CHRIST. 

as  external  evidence  of  this  inspiration :  hun* 
dreds  and  thousands  of  simple  Christians,  who 
know  nothing  of  argument  or  controversy, 
have  discovered,  through  the  witness  of  God's 
Spirit  in  their  own  hearts,  that  the  Bible  is 
the  very  voice  of  God ;  and  there  is  no  argu- 
ment half  so  efficacious  with  the  great  major- 
ity of  readers,  for  proving  the  Divine  author- 
ship of  Scripture,  as  the  spiritual  hallowing 
influence  that  the  Bible  itself  seems  to  breathe 
over  us  when  we  bring  ourselves  into  real 
contact  with  its  contents. 

Again,  a  great  help  to  devout- 
i^^  ^  ^'  ^^^^  ^"^  ^^^^  restless  and  distracting 
age  is  contemplation.  It  may  be 
distinguished  from  meditation  (on  which  a 
few  words  have  already  been  written,"^)  as  be- 
ing the  attention  of  the  mind  and  heart  to  a 
person  rather  than  to  a  truth ;  and  while  medi- 
tation may  be  defined  as  the  pondering  of  the 
spirit  on  some  Divine  doctrine,  with  (so  to 
speak)  closed  eyes  and  abstracted  senses,  con* 
templation  is  the  adoring  gaze  of  the  believ- 
ing and  worshiping  heart  on  the  glory  of  its 

♦See  p.  152. 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


227 


Lord  and  King.  ''  Out  of  sight,  out  of  mind," 
is  a  truth  true  in  many  ways.  If  we  never  set 
Christ  himself  preaching  on  the  mountains 
of  GaHlee,  dying  on  the  cross,  glorified  at  His 
Father's  right  hand,  before  our  heart  and 
imagination,  we  must  expect  only  faintly  to 
realize  all  that  He  has  suffered,  all  that  He  is 
now  doing  for  us ;  and  the  result  will  be  our 
spiritual  loss.  To  look  on  Jesus  with  the 
purified  eye  of  faith  and  love,  though  it  may 
be  a  rare,  is,  however,  a  truly  blessed  means 
of  grace.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  even 
now  we  may  see,  if  we  will,  our  King  in  His 
beauty  ;  and  if  in  the  day  of  His  return  we 
are  to  be  made  like  Him  in  body  as  well  as  in 
soul  through  seeing  Him  as  He  is,  we  may 
become  spiritually  like  Him  now  through 
contemplating  His  person,  and  meditating  01? 
His  work,  and  pondering  His  character,  and 
feeding  on  His  words.  For,  even  now,  we  all, 
with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory 
of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image, 
from  glory  to  glory ^  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 

Lord  [2  Cor.  iii.  18]. 

There  is  yet  one  other  aid  toward  the  stir- 
ring up  within  us  of  a  living  devoutness  to 


228  '^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

Christ,  on  which  a  few  words  have  elsewhere 
been  said  *  from  a  different  point  of  view, 
and  that  is,  a  frequent  receiving  Frequent 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Even  in  receiving  of  the 
the  lowest  and  poorest  inter-  ^^^^'"^  ^''^^'''^ 
pretation  of  this  sacrament,  as  nothing  more 
than  an  act  of  commemoration  of  the  Lord's 
sacrifice,  one  would  think  that  nothing  would 
be  so  likely  to  stir  our  gratitude,  and  dispose 
our  hearts  to  receive  His  mercy,  as  often  to 
partake  of  the  memorial  of  His  passion  ;  and 
that  none  of  the  Saviour's  words  would  be 
more  tenderly  cherished,  or  more  studiously 
obeyed,  than  His  dying  injunction,  TJiis  do  in 
remembrance  of  me  [Lukexxn.  i9].  But  the  teach- 
ing of  Zwinglius  falls  miserably  short  of  the 
authorized  doctrine,  whether  of  the  Church 
of  England  or  the  Church  of  Scotland.  The 
English  Church  teaches  her  members  that 
"  if,  with  a  true  penitent  heart  and  lively 
faith,  we  receive  that  holy  sacrament,  then 
we  spiritually  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ,  and 
drink  His  blood,  then  we  dwell  in  Christ,  and 
Christ  in   us — we  are   one    with   Christ,   and 

♦See  p.  i6i. 


ETERXAL  LIFE.  220 

Christ  with  us."  The  Church  of  Scotland, 
in  the  Shorter  Catechism,  declares  that  ^he 
*'  worthy  receivers "  in  this  sacrament  are 
"  made  partakers  of  Christ's  body  and  blood, 
with  all  His  benefits  ;  "  and  in  answer  to  the 
question,  "  Is  not  Christ  really  present  in  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Supper?"  does  not  hesitate 
distinctly  to  reply  that,  '^  He  is  as  really,  but 
spiritually  present  to  the  faith  of  believers  in 
that  ordinance,  as  the  elements  themselves 
are  to  their  outward  senses." 

Now  if  this  indeed  be  so — if,  whenever  we 
partake  of  the  Lord's  table  in  a  right  spirit — • 
we  feed  on  the  very  Christ  himself,  given  to 
us  there  by  the  operation  of  His  Spirit,  to 
be  our  meat  and  drink,  our  strength  and  joy, 
must  not  that  blessed  means  of  grace  be  espe- 
cially calculated  to  fill  us  with  thankfulness 
and  self-abasement,  to  stir  up  renewed  self- 
surrender,  and  more  habitual  self-denial  ? 
And  as  to  the  objection,  so  frequently,  and 
not  at  all  unreasonably,  made  to  a  frequent 
reception  of  it,  on  the  ground  of  our  losing 
blessing  through  a  greater  familiarity  with  it, 
may  we  not  thereby  be  doubting,  though 
quite  unconsciously,  God's  wisdom  in  ordain- 


:j30  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

ii\<g  this  privilege,  and  mistrusting  His  power 
io  prevent  His  ordinance  falling  short  of  His 
ourpose  to  bless  ?     Of  course,  it  must  always 
be    a   matter   for   individual    discretion    how 
aften  it  may  be  expedient  to  partake  of  this 
ordinance  ;  and  while  we  are   careful    to    re- 
bcrve   to  ourselvt5   the   free  exercise   of  our 
own   judgment,    the    same   liberty   must    be 
granted  to  our  brethren.     Still,  it  is  certain 
that  from  not  fully  appreciating  the  blessed- 
ness,   and    apprehending    the    meaning,    and 
using  the  opportunities,  and    welcoming  the 
grace  of  this  sacrament,  some  of  us  fall  short 
of  God's    offers    of    blessing ;    for,   while   it 
strengthens  faith,  and  quickens  love,  it  also 
animates   hope.     The  memorial  of  the  Cross 
is  also  the  promise  of  the  glory ;  and  they 
who  at  the  Lord's  table  on  earth  love  to  show 
forth  their  Lord's  death  till  He  come  [icor.  xi.  sej, 
are  surely  more  likely  than  others  to  be  look- 
ing forward  to  the  glorious  moment  when  they 
will  be  called  to   sit   down  to  the  marriage 
Supper  of  the  Lamb. 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


231 


OW,  all  this  throws  light 

,1  .  1     1-r       •      Eterital  life  in 

on    the    eternal    life    in  heaven. 

heaven,  which  we  come  to  con- 
sider in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  1 
zvilL  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever 
[Psnimxxiii.6].  Whether  David  himself  actually 
meant  to  refer  to  it,  is  open  to  reasonable 
doubt.  Certain,  however,  it  is  that  he  had 
been  divinely  instructed  about  it,  and  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  psalms  anticipate 
its  blessedness  in  language  which  Christians, 
looking  back  at  their  Lord's  resurrection,  can 
gladly  and  consistently  use.  But  it  is  one  of 
the  features  of  the  inspired  Word,  that  it  con- 
tains depth  within  depth  of  the  Divine  doc- 
trine, well  beneath  well  of  the  living  water ; 
and  it  is  hardly  possible  for  a  Christian  to 
utter  these  words  without  declaring  the  blessed 
hope  of  tJie  glorious  appearing  [TUusii.  13]  to  be 
his  own.  ^ 

Heaven  is  spoken  of  here  under  three  points 
of  view — as  a  home,  as  a  permanent  home,  as 
a  home  in  the  presence  of  God.  It  is  to  be  a 
house,  not  a  tent ;  a  home,  not  a  lodging  ; 
the  no  longer  seeing  through  a  glass  darkly 


232 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


but  the  beholding  as  with  open  face  the  vision 

of  God. 

Now,  eternal  life  in  heaven  is 

//  is  a  continu'  plainly  but  a  continuation  and  a 
atzo7i  of  eternal    ,         ,  ,       r      >  i    i  •  r 

life  on  earth,      development  of  eternal  life  on 

earth.  It  will  be  the  same  in 
fhe  essence  of  its  character,  in  the  motive  of 
its  service,  in  the  substance  of  its  joys,  in  the 
nature  of  its  glory.  It  will  be  different,  for 
there  will  be  no  mortal  body  to  hamper  its 
action,  no  sinful  nature  to  interrupt  its  prog- 
ress ;  in  perfect  liberty,  and  in  entire  secu- 
rity, with  energies  that  will  never  be  exhaust- 
ed, with  opportunities  that  will  never  be 
thrown  away,  it  will  expand  in  the  glorified 
soul  through  the  eternal  ages,  to  the  praise  of 
God  and  the  joy  of  men. 

The  character  of  heaven  will 
Love  will  be  its  r        .v  r     i.  n         j    i 

character,  ^e   the  perfect    unalloyed    love 

of  sinless  and  glorified  beings. 

Dwelling  in  love,  we  shall,  in  the  full  sense  of 

the  word,  dwell  in  God,  and  God  in  us.     The 

noblest  aspirations  of  the  regenerate  man  will 

then  have  their  full  satisfaction  ;  and  if  there 

will  still  be  something  left  to  wish  for,  if  in 

the  fullness  of  joy  at  God's  right  hand,  faith 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


233 


and  hope  shall  still  hold  their  place,  and  ful- 
fill their  functions  in  the  human  soul,  faith 
will  be  the  joyful  and  humble  sense  of  depend- 
ence on  God  and  Christ,  who  there  as  here 
will  be  the  spiritual  food,  the  source  of  life 
and  power  to  His  glorified  creatures,  hope  will 
vividly  anticipate  an  ever-increasing  capacity 
to  love  God  as  He  deserves,  ever-growing 
powers  to  prove  and  use  that  love  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  Divine  will.  At  present  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  conceive  ourselves  loving 
God  and  each  other  perfectly ;  to  have  every 
motive  of  service,  every  spring  of  feeling, 
every  throb  of  zeal  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  which  self  shall  not  spoil,  and  pride  shall 
not  tarnish.  In  heaven,  dwelling  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  love,  to  which  each  contributes,  and 
of  which  each  receives,  we  shall  behold  Him, 
who  is  the  sun  from  whom  our  light  comes, 
the  King  from  whom  our  royalty  comes,  the 
Priest  who  gives  us  our  priesthood,  the  Lamb 
who  has  bought  us  our  salvation ;  and  the 
more  we  gaze,  the  more  we  shall  love ;  and 
our  growth  in  love  will  be  as  infinite  as  God. 

For  we  can  not  do  more  than  love  God ; 
there   is   no   higher  duty,  and    there    is    no 


234 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


greater  bliss.  The  true  idea  of  the  character 
of  heaven  must  be  that  of  love ;  the  only 
question  about  it  is  the  question  of  degree. 
God  is  love  Himself:  and  so  far  as  we  resem- 
ble Him,  we  shall  be  love  likewise :  and  as  if 
to  show  that  love  is  worship  and  worship  is 
love,  the  inspired  account  of  heaven  is,  that 
there  shall  be  no  temple  there.  Perfect  love 
can  adore  and  worship  without  signs  and 
symbols ;  tJic  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the 
Lamb  ai'e  the  temple  of  it  [Rw.  xxi.  22]. 


OVE   being   the  character, 

.1  ,  c    The  service  in 

nay,   the  very    nature   of   Heave?i, 

heaven,  it  is  clear  that  the  service 
and  occupation  of  heaven  will  be  the  simple 
outgoing  and  satisfying  of  that  love,  in  what- 
ever can  serve,  and  please,  and  glorify  Him  on 
whom  it  is  bestowed.  To  know  God's  will 
must  then  be  instantly  and  joyfully  to  fulfill 
it ;  and  independently  of  the  new  means,  that 
may  then  be  vouchsafed,  of  spiritual  fellow- 
ship, and.  of  Divine  communications  (about 
which  none  of  us  can  do  more  than  guess  and 
speculate),  we  are  quite  sure  that  there  will  be 
no  moral  hindrance,  as  there  too  often  is  now. 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


235 


fco  ascertaining  it,  through  our  own  unwilling 
ness  to  perform  it  when  known  ;  by  intuition 
we  shall  discover  His  good  pleasure ;  and  by 
the  unerring  instinct  of  our  nature  we  shall 
hasten  to  fulfill  it.  For  there  will  be  no  law  in 
heaven.  Law,  as  St.  Paul  tells  us,  is  only  for 
the  lawless  and  disobedient  in:im.\.&i.  When  it 
is  our  meat  and  drink  to  do  God's  will,  we 
shall  stand  in  no  more  need  of  a  code  from 
Sinai.  Walking  in  the  spirit,  we  shall  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  letter.  When  the  blessed  will 
of  God  is  written  in  our  hearts,  and  absorbed 
into  our  wills,  and  apparent  to  our  minds,  and 
supreme  in  our  consciences,  we  shall  not  want 
teachers  to  teach  us,  for  all  shall  knoiu  me, 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest  [Heb.  viii.  m ;  and 
pains  and  penalties  will  be  needed  no  longer, 
when  perfect  love  has  cast  out  fear. 

What  that  service  will  be,  we  can  only  con- 
jecture, we  may  not  presume  to  declare.  But 
death,  so  far  as  we  know,  can  not  interrupt 
our  spiritual  existence,  and  will  certainly  be 
unable  to  affect  either  our  mental  powers  or 
our  constitutional  gifts,  or  our  moral  character. 
Nay,  it  is  not  even  conceivable,  that  the 
capacities  we  possess  here,  with  so  much  to 


236  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

hamper  their  exercise,  and  mar  their  improve- 
ment, and  check  their  progress,  and  disap- 
point their  efforts,  should  be  either  suspended 
or  diminished  merely  through  our  entrance 
into  another  state  of  being,  which  may  be 
reasonably  likened  to  a  man's  entering  on 
mature  life  after  the  discipline  and  pupilage 
of  school.  We  are  justified,  therefore,  in 
thinking  it  at  least  probable  that  our  service 
in  heaven  may  not  be  altogether  unconnected 
with  our  employments  on  earth ;  and  that 
the  powers  and  qualities,  and  gifts  and  talents 
intrusted  to  us  here,  will,  according  to  the  use 
and  improvement  we  have  made  of  them,  de- 
cide our  work  and  position  for  us  in  the  king- 
dom of  the  Father. 

For  it  is  by  no  means  of  so  much  conse- 
quence what  a  man  does  as  how  he  does  it. 
His  calling  does  not  so  much  ennoble  him, 
as  he  his  calling.  Accuracy,  perseverance,  con- 
scientiousness, patience,  industry,  are  all  im- 
mortal and  invaluable  properties  of  human 
character ;  and  when  the  King  comes  to  take 
account  of  His  servants,  each' faithful  servant's 
character  and  powers  will  at  the  end  of  his 
earthly  career  come  up  to  judgment,  not  for 


ETERNAL  LIFE. 


237 


condemnation,  but  for  scrutiny;  not  only  in 
reference  to  the  past,  but  also  to  the  future. 
Surely  it  is  a  noble  and  elevating  reflection ; 
one,  moreover,  to  give  much  consolation 
and  light  about  many  otherwise  unintelligible 
circumstances  in  the  providential  government 
of  God,  that  nothing  we  do  or  suffer  now  that 
pleases  God  can  be  lost,  or  go  unrewarded  and 
forgotten.  Every  man  shall  receive  his  own  re- 
ward,  according  to  his  own  labor  [i  cor.  iii.  s].  H  um-^ 
ble  diligence,  uncomplaining  patience,  cheer- 
ful self-denial,  unworldly  simplicity,  are  seen 
of  God,  if  neglected  by  men ;  and  though 
in  this  world  the  man  who  takes  most  care 
of  himself  generally  gets  the  best  of  it  ;  in 
the  next  world,  he  who  has  thought  most 
of  God  and  his  brother  will  then  be  found  : 
the  truly  wise  man  ;  and  in  the  day  when 
God  makes  up  His  jewels  to  set  in  His  Son's 
diadem,  not  necessarily  those  who  have  filled 
the  highest  places,  or  won  the  most  applause, 
shall  shine  forth  then  with  the  most  resplen- 
dent brightness,  but  those  also  shall  be  very 
near  the  throne  who  have  postponed  the 
praise  of  men  to  the  praise  of  God,  who  have  . 
been    contented    to    do    modest    duties   well, 


238  ^^^  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

rather  than  important  duties  badly  ;  whose 
courage  has  kept  them  poor,  and  whom  plain- 
spoken  honesty  has  deprived  of  advancement ; 
who  have  never  suffered  any  earthly  motive  to 
blind  their  eyes  to  the  seeking  of  God's  glory, 
or  to  blunt  their  hearts  to  the  sense  of  His 
love.  There  will  be  many  widows  with  their 
two  mites  set  high  up  in  the  heavenly  places  ; 
and  many  Demases  only  just  let  in.  It  w^ill 
be  seen  then  to  have  been  better  to  have  had 
only  one  pound  to  use,  and  to  have  made  two 
of  it,  than  to  have  had  five,  and  thrown  them 
away. 

"  Be  sure — no  earnest  work, 
Of  any  honest  creature,  howbeit  weak, 
Imperfect,  ill-adapted,  fails  so  much, 
It  is  not  gather'd  as  a  grain  of  sand, 
To  enlarge  the  sum  of  human  action  used, 
For  carrying  out  God's  end.     No  creature  works 
So  ill,  observe,  that  therefore  he's  cashiered. 
The  honest  earnest  man  must  stand  and  work ; 
The  woman  also  ;  otherwise  she  drops 
At  once  below  the  dignity  of  man, 
Accepting  serfdom.     Free  men  freely  work. 
Whoever  fears  God,  fears  to  sit  at  ease."  * 

*  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning. 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  239 

That  heaven  is  love,  is  a  true 
,  ,  ,       .  r  -.      Heaven  ever' 

key  to  the  everlastingness  ot  its  lasting. 

duration.  How,  when  once  there, 
we  can  cease  to  love,  cease,  as  has  been  ob- 
served already,  to  increase  in  loving,  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  conceive.  For  as  there 
will  be  nothing  to  disappoint  us  in  God,  so 
there  will  be  nothing  to  tempt  us  in  our- 
selves. The  more  we  see  of  God,  and  learn 
of  Him,  and  dwell  with  Him,  the  more  we 
must  love  Him.  His  character  will  be  in- 
creasingly revealed  in  all  its  perfection.  His 
will  in  all  its  righteousness,  His  creation  in  all 
its  wisdom.  His  redemption  in  all  its  fullness. 
And  if  there  is  nothing  in  Him  to  make  our 
song  flag,  or  our  loyalty  waver,  or  our  love 
decay,  or  our  service  diminish,  neither,  through 
His  sustaining  grace,  shall  there  be  anything 
in  us.  In  our  glorified  bodies,  and  in  our  sin- 
less nature,  we  shall  be  more  than  ever  the 
very  dwelling-place  of  God.  For  the  elect  in 
glory,  sin  will  be  even  impossible.  Faith  shall 
never  fail,  hope  shall  never  be  disappointed, 
and  though  our  love  will  never  burn  with  an 
ardor  to  satisfy  us,  for  he  who  thinks  he  loves 
God  as  much  as  He  deserves,  can  hardly  be 


240  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST, 

said  to  love  Him  at  all ;  it  shall  no  longer 
doubt  itself  for  its  insincerity,  or  accuse  itself 
for  its  lukewarmness.  That  will  be  a  glorious 
and  an  unselfish  security,  in  which  the  chil- 
dren of  the  resurrection  shall  rest  themselves 
forever  in  the  everlasting  arms,  safe  in  the 
eternal  purpose  of  Christ's  redeeming  love 
made  perfect,  and  fulfilling  its  own  nature  in 
teaching,  and  glorifying,  and  elevating,  and 
beatifying  all  through  eternity  those  whom 
the  Father  has  given  Him  out  of  the  world. 

The  question  of  degrees  in  glory, 
g-lQjry  incontestably   established   as   it    is 

by  many  passages  of  Scripture,  is 
sometimes  perplexing  to  those  who  are  jeal- 
ous of  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace,  may 
be  more  clearly  seen  in  the  light  of  the  un- 
deniable fact,  that  with  all  imaginable  varie- 
ties of  depth  and  power  regenerate  souls  adore 
God. 

As  a  moral  question,  it  is  simply  one  ot 
justice ;  that  justice  being  a  revelation  of 
God's  unerring  righteousness  in  recognizing 
and  rewarding  the  use  of  the  grace  He  has 
Himself  bestowed.  St.  Paul  and  the  peni- 
tent thief  are  equally  sinners  saved  by  grace, 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  24 1 

and  enter  heaven  on  the  identical  terms  of 
God's  redeeming  mercy ;  yet  they  shall  have 
each  their  place,  and  their  crown,  and  their 
work,  and  their  glory,  according  to  the  fight 
they  have  fought,  the  course  they  have  fin- 
ished, and  the  faith  they  have  maintained. 

Let  us  look  at  it,  however,  a  moment 
longer  in  connection  with  the  idea  already 
maintained,  that  the  evidence  of  eternal  life 
in  the  soul  is  faith  working  by  love.  Only  a 
regenerate  soul — a  soul,  that  is,  with  the  Di- 
vine life  implanted  in  it — can,  in  any  real  and 
sufficient  sense,  love  God.  As  we  love,  we 
obey.  And  if  faith  receives  salvation,  obedi- 
ence earns  glory. 


mm 


HERE  are  two  accounts  of  the  love  of 
the  regenerate  soul ;  one  finding  it  in 
God,  the  other  rewarding  it  with  God ;  the 
one  proclaiming  our  dependence,  the  other 
vindicating  our  responsibility.  We  love  Him^ 
because  He  first  loved  us  [Uoimiv.  19] ;  here  is  the 
first  cause  of  man's  love  to  God,  in  God's  love 
to  man.  If  any  man  love  me^  he  will  keep  my 
words  ;  and  my  Father  will  love  him  [i'*n  xiv.  23].  / 
love  them  that  love  me  ;  and  those  that  seek  me 
16 


242  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

early  s  J  mil  find  me  [Prov.  vii.  i?], — here  is  the  growth 
and  increase  of  God's  love  to  man,  made  de- 
pendent on  man's  love  to  God  ;  God  recog- 
nizing and  rewarding  the  use  of  His  own 
mercy  by  multiplying  it  on  the  faithful  soul. 

Now,  what  is  glory?  In  the 
The  meam'nor  r  .-i  j     -^   • 

of  glory.  deepest  sense   of  the  word,  it  is 

the  manifestation  of  God's  image 
and  character,  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  now, 
as  we  are  changed  by  His  Spirit,  "  from  glory 
to  glory ;  "  to  be  displayed  at  the  Resurrec- 
tion presently,  when  we  shine  forth  as  the 
sun,  and  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
But  the  more  we  love  now,  the  more  v/e  shall 
love  then  ;  the  nearer  we  live  to  God  now,  the 
nearer  we  shall  be  to  God  then  ;  the  more  we 
deny  ourselves  for  His  sake  now,  the  more 
He  will  recompense  us  then  ;  the  more  we 
open  our  hearts  to  Him,  and  surrender  our 
wills  to  Him  now,  the  more  He  will  glorify 
us  hereafter.  And  the  cause  of  this  is  also  the 
chosen  instrument  of  fulfilling  it.  For  nothing 
so  expands  and  deepens  our  nature  as  true 
love,  of  any  kind.  But  love  to  God  has  a 
special  power  of  its  own  for  making  the  heart 
bigger  ard  deeper  for  Him  to  come  in,  and 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  2^ 

inhabit  it,  and  fill  it  out  of  His  fullness.  The 
eye  of  the  mind  being  enlarged  to  take  in  His 
truth,  more  and  more  light  shines  in ;  the 
door  of  the  heart  being  widened  to  receive 
His  grace,  God  rains  on  it  showers  of  blessing. 
The  entire  moral  being  is  ever  growing  larger 
through  the  sanctifying  influence  of  Divine 
love ;  and  thus,  through  the  unconscious 
agency  of  his  own  devoutness,  the  Christian 
has  "  grace  for  grace,"  and  yet  it  is  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ  [Eph.  iv.  ?].  For 
even  God  can  give  us  only  according  to  our 
capacity  of  receiving.  No  vessel  can  be  more 
than  brimful ;  and  though,  when  once  in 
heaven,  we  may  all  be  growing  alike  in  our 
power  of  receiving  more  grace,  and  learning 
more  truth,  and  rendering  more  service,  and 
drinking  more  joy,  entering  heaven,  we  start, 
so  to  speak,  with  all  possible  varieties  of 
moral  stature  and  spiritual  attainment — the 
stature  and  the  attainments  being  fashioned 
when  on  earth.  _ 

Howe,  in  his  "  Blessedness  of  jjowe's^Blcss-^ 
the  Righteous,"  has  a  noble  pas-  edness  of  the  \ 

1.11  I.  1   i.       Righteous." 

sage,  m  which   he  contemplates      ^ 

innumerable   multitudes  of   pure   and  happy 


>44 


THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 


creatures  inhabiting  and  replenishing  ample 
and  spacious  regions  above,  ignorant  of  noth- 
ing lawful,  and  pleasant  to  be  known,  curious 
to  know  nothing  useless,  endowed  with  a  self- 
governing  wisdom,  yet  with  a  noble  freedom, 
all  everywhere  full  of  God,  full  of  reverence 
and  dutiful  love,  every  one  in  his  own  eyes  as 
nothing,  self-consistent,  ever  free  of  all  self- 
displeasure,  all  assured  of  their  acceptance 
with  God,  all  counting  each  other's  felicity 
their  own,  and  every  one's  enjoyment  multi- 
plied so  many  thousandfold  as  he  apprehends 
every  one  as  perfectly  pleased  and  happy  as 
himself. 

Well  may  the  Christian  say,  as  he  ponders 
these  noble  thoughts,  "  Oh,  what  will  it  be  to 
be  there  !  "  And  if  the  joy  is  so  rapturous, 
the  rest  so  blessed,  the  company  so  edifying 
the  place  so  glorious,  Christ  visible,  God  near, 
death  behind,  judgment  over,  what  is  our 
hope  of  this  glory,  and  what  result  does  it 
produce  in  us ;  does  it  strengthen  us  for  the 
duties  of  life,  and  console  us  under  its  sor> 
rows,  making  its  losses  light,  and  its  gains 
trifling?  Surely  we  Christians  are  but  half 
awake ;    and  the   children  of  this  world  are 


ETERNAL  LIFE.  245 

still  in  their  generation  wiser  than  the  children 
of  light.  There  are  treasures  for  us  that  we 
will  hardly  think  of,  a  home  that  it  is  barely 
worth  our  while  to  prepare  for,  joys  which 
we  languidly  taste,  gifts  which  we  slothfuUy 
use. 

Yet  the  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand 
iRom.  xiii.  12].     We  have  slumbered  and  slept  till 
our  lamps  are  all  but  gone  out ;  let  us  hasten 
to  trim  them,  for  the   Bridegroom   is  coming. 
Surely,  if  we  quite  believed  about  heaven  all  1 
that   the  Bible  tells  us    of  it,  how  humihty  , 
would  clothe  us,  and  zeal  inflame  us,  and  the  | 
thought  of  our  inheritance  ennoble  us,  mak- 
ing us  calm  and   brave   as  the  sons  of  God  ! 
We  should  live  with  men  now,  heirs  with  us  of, 
a  common  salvation,  as  those  who  hope  pres- 
ently to  pass  eternity  together.     Wherever  we  \ 
found  souls  without   the  Divine   knowledge, 
we  should  endeavor  to  say  to  them  with  zeal, 
and  yet  with  wisdom.  Come  thou  with  us,  and 
we  will  do  thee  good  [Num.  x  oj.     We  should  pray, 
believing  in  prayer :  we   should  work,  for  tJie 
time  is  short  [i  cor.  vii.  29] ;   we  should   hate  arid 
resist  sin,  in,  at  least,  something  of  the  spirit 
in  which  we  shall  look  back  at  it  out  of  Para- 


246  THE  PRESENCE  OF  CHRIST. 

dise :  sloth,  and  self-indulgence,  and  covetous- 
ness,  and  injustice  to  each  other,  would  seem 
even  a  treason  against  the  Lord  that  bought 
us  with  His  blood. 

Oh,  then,  let  us  live  for  this  glory,  and  wait 
for  it,  and  do  all  we  can  to  earn  it,  for  our 
glory  is  our  Master's,  and  He  is  coming  to  be 
glorified  in  His  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all 
them  that  believe  [2Thess.  i.  is].  The  more  souls 
we  can  win  for  Him,  the  more  He  will  see  of 
the  travail  of  His  soul  and  be  satisfied  [isa.  iiii.  ii]. 
The  greater  the  faith  and  patience  that  His 
servants  manifest,  the  more  evident  the  work 
of  His  Spirit  before  angels  and  men.  It  is 
but  a  very  little  while  we  have,  at  the  longest, 
in  which  to  pray,  to  trust,  to  suffer,  to  labor ; 
and  much  of  it  is  gone  already.  Let  us  make 
the  most  of  what  is  left ;  redeeming  the  time, 
because  the  days  are  ^z/Z/cEph.v.  16].  And  when 
the  Good  Shepherd  leads  His  ransomed  flock 
to  pastures  ever  green,  and  waters  ever  still, 
on  the  delectable  mountains  of  the  true  land 
of  promise,  then  we  shall  say  from  our  hearts, 
as  none  can  quite  say  on  this  side  of  the  river. 
In  Thy  presence  is  fullness  of  joy :  at  TJiy  right 
hand  are  pleasures  for  evermore  [ps.  xvi.  ii]. 


INDEX. 


m.B.—Noi  having  my  books  at  hand,  I  have  been  unable  to  verify  all 
the  quotations  :  but  the  reader  may  rely  on  them  as  substantially 
accurate. 


Alford,  Dean,  quoted,  60. 

Assurance,  Christian,  meaning  of, 
ig ;  objections  to,  19  ;  reason- 
ableness of,  22  ;  varieties  of,  24  ; 
external  aids  of,  37. 

Bacon,  Lord,  quoted,  83,  141. 
Barrow,  Dr.  Isaac,  quoted,  63. 
Barry,  Rev.  Dr.,  quoted,  72. 
Baptism,  its  relation  to  circumcis- 
ion, 39  ;  to  be  pleaded  in  prayer, 

40-  ... 

Bible,  study  of,  223 ;    inspiration 

of,  225. 
Browning,  E.  B.,  quoted,  238. 
Browning.  R.,  quoted,  108. 
Butler,  Bp.,  quoted,  70. 

Caird,  Professor,  quoted,  183. 

Church  of  God,  a  testimony  to  the 
existence  of  Christ,  37  ;  an  evi- 
dence of  the  merciful  purpose  of 
God,  38. 

Chastisement,  the  meaning  of,  84; 
the  twofold  purpose  of,  86  ;  in- 
stances of,  go  ;  a  preparation  for 
life,  103  ;  a  discovery  of  sin,  100  ; 
edification  to  the  Church  at 
large,  55  ;  education  for  heaven, 
105  ;  meaning  of  long  periods  of, 
118  ;  an  individual  discipline, 
117;  mercifulness  and  gentleness 
of,  T16  ;  how  to  retain  the  bless- 
ing of,  iig;  need  not  be  a  time 
of  uselcssness,  120. 


Contemplation  of  Christ  a  meanit 
of  grace,  226. 


David,  190. 

Death,  meaning  of,  138  ;  solitude 
of,  139  ;  Christ  the  conqueror  of, 
138  ;  fear  of,  reasonable,  134  ;  no 
rule  to  measure  or  determine 
this  fear,  146  ;  object  of  this  fear, 
147 ;  how  to  overcome  it,  144  ; 
not  to  be  dwelt  on  beforehand, 

155- 
Devoutness,  meaning  of,  211 ;  why 

so  rare,  214  ;  conditions  of,  217  • 

helps  to,  221. 
Dictionary  of  Bible  quoted,  70. 
Diligence  for  God,  219. 
Disappointments,  varieties  of,  186  , 

occurring   to    all    in   turn,   189; 

what  they  are  to  teach  us,  192 ; 

how  we  are  to  bear  them,  195. 
'*  Dreamthorp  "  quoted,  153. 


Elijah,  93. 

Enemies,  personal,  165. 

Faith  the  first  duty  of  man,  31: 
to  be  exercised  on  a  "  born  ' 
Saviour,  37;  to  be  intelligent 
and  well-instructed,  25 ;  about 
others,  35  ;  in  chastisement,  115  ; 
the  victory  over  death,  144  ;  th« 
joy  of,  200. 

(247) 


248 


INDEX. 


God  reconciled  in  Christ,  17  ;  His 
character  the  ground  of  assur- 
ance, 23 ;  His  name  revealing 
Him,  24  ;  a  sovereign,  46  ;  guid- 
ing us  as  we  are  willing  to  I  e 
guided,  5S ;  chastening.'  Uf  fc  r 
His  name's  sake,  loy ;  bevter 
than  His  gifts,  105,  183  ;  giving 
as  we  are  alDle  to  receive,  181. 

Gospel,  definition  of,  17  ;  difficul- 
ties of  receiving  it,  18. 

Glory,  meaning  of,  242 ;  degrees 
of,  240. 

Heaven,  service  in,  234 ;  everlast- 
ing, 239. 

Heavenly-mindedness,  real  mean- 
ing of,  108. 

Hezekiah,  134. 

Hope,  patience  of,  201. 

Howe,  quoted,  243, 

Jacob,  25,  27,  190. 

Joseph,  104. 

Josiah,  92. 

Justice  to  the  claims  of  others,  197. 

Keble,  Rev.  John,  quoted,  134. 
Kempis,  Thomas  a,  quoted,  99. 

Life,  Eternal,  to  be  possessed 
now,  207  ;  in  heaven,  231  ;  char- 
acter of  it.  232. 

Life,  Two  Views  of,  158. 

Love  to  Christ,  exhortation  to,  153. 

McCosH,  Professor,  quoted,  71. 
Meditation,  more  needed,  152. 
Monod,  Adolphe,  quoted,  12,  201, 

205. 
Moorhouse,  Rev.  J.,  quoted,  no. 
Mos^s,  92,  113. 

Obedience  a  preservative  against 
murmuring,  181. 

Pascal,  quoted,  139,  152,  158. 
Paul,  St.,  qnoted,  190. 


32. 


Perowne,  Professor,  49. 
■'  Pilgrim's  Progress,"^ quoted,  i^^ 
Prayer,    on    what   conditions    an- 
swered, 7-1  ;  the  example  of  Christ 
in,  73  ;  a  habit,  222. 


Presence  of  Christ  traced  in  the 
anticipations  of  it  in  Holy  Script- 
ure, 12  ;  not  a  physical  nearness, 
124  ;  communicated  through  the 
Spirit,  128  ;  when  specially  need- 
ed and  given,  130  ;  conditions  of 
maintaining,  151 ;  in  death,  144, 

Providence,  Divine,  the  meaning 
of,  43  ;  the  purpose  and  tendency 
of,  51  :  the  result  of,  49  ;  viewed 
in  connection  vv'ith  praj'er,  69; 
and  with  human  responsibility, 
58  ;  how  far  to  be  ascertained,  74  ; 
for  whom,  and  for  what,  78  ;  in 
what  sense  special  and  generaJ^ 
62. 

Psalm,  Twenty-third,  contains  Old 
Testament  doctrine  of  assur- 
ance, 23. 

Rebekah,  90. 

Sanctifi CATION,  real  meaning  and 

method  of,  98. 
Sardis,  Church  of,  88. 
Saurin  quoted,  124. 
Scotland,    Shorter  Catechism    of, 

quoted,  229. 
Self-respect  under  disappointment, 

195. 
Shepherd,    Christ   the   Good,   28 ; 

office  of,  27. 
Single-mindedness,    meaning     of, 

198. 
Standard  of  Christians  too  low,  215. 
Supper,  Lord's,  doctrine   of,  228 ; 

a  comfort  after  temptation,  161 ; 

on  frequent  receiving  of,  229. 
Sympathy,  meaning  of,  125,  195. 

Temptation,  170. 

Thankfulness,  205. 

Thomson,  Archbishop,  quoted,  43, 

70. 
Trench,   Archbishop,  quoted,  78, 

80,  161,  202. 

Valley  of  Shadow  of  Death,  what 
meant  by,  134  ;  a  distinct  thing 
I      from  dying,  134  ;  illustration  of, 
135 ;    peculiar  sadness  of,    136 
why  ordained,  137. 
Vinet  quoted,  11. 

Zeal  for  the  souls  of  others,  154, 


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